‘Can PCO judges decide who is Sadiq and Ameen?’

Former PM says he is ready to shake hands with Zardari for democracy, flays PPP amendment move, calls PTI undemocratic

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he is ready shake hands unconditionally with Asif Ali Zardari for the sake of the constitution and improvement in the country.

He expressed disappointment over the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) support for the Election (Amendment) Act, 2017, called the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) an undemocratic party, and criticised the former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for allegedly fleeing the country.

He also said he cannot expect justice from judges who took oaths on Musharraf’s Provisional Constitutional  Order. “Can they do justice or decide if someone is Sadiq and Amin,” he asked.

“The overwhelming majority of parliamentarians are not ready to give indemnity to the black laws passed by dictators,” Sharif  said, adding, “I heartily appreciate PML-N and coalition parties for scrapping the bill which was aimed at restoring a dictatorial law.”

Sharif was speaking with reporters inside the courtroom as his trial in connection with three references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) continues. He also spoke at the entrance of the Federal Judicial Complex while leaving the court premises.



Where is Musharraf, he asked, answering his own question by saying the military dictator who imposed martial law was nowhere to be seen today. “The dictator who imposed martial law in 1999 doesn’t dare enter into Pakistan now,” he said. “This is change.”

PTI is following the footsteps of dictators and has no respect for democracy and democratic values, Sharif alleged, adding that he has no complaint with the PTI for supporting a black law.

“I have no complaint with PTI since they have never valued democracy. They are not a democratic party. They are simply following the policies of dictators,” Sharif said.

He said that he was shocked to see that PPP supported a black law which was introduced by the dictator. “It has damaged PPP’s credentials as a democratic party.”

It is painful to note that PPP unnecessarily supported a black law, he said. “There was no need to support such a dictatorial and black law as the people are questioning democratic credentials of the People’s Party.”

Time is changing, he said, adding that the martial law of 1958 was different from that of 1977 and that the martial law of 1999 was altogether different from the previous two terms. “It is time to restore the sanctity of the vote,” he said.



In his talk inside the courtroom, the three-time former prime minister said that the PML-N has delivered despite frequent sit-ins, including the PTI sit-ins and the current one by a religious group, in the capital.

“The government has not been allowed to work properly and the sit-ins are going on since 2014. I’m talking about the PTI sit-in,” the deposed PM elaborated.

He said that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak used to attend the 2014 sit-in against the centre with his official protocol in tow. “[PTI] are proving to be liars,” he said, adding that corruption scandals involving Imran Khan, Jahangir Tareen, and Aleem Khan have also surfaced.

“Judgments in our cases come very early. I don't know how much time will be taken for decisions in their cases," Sharif said. He emphasised that the courts have “double standards” while dealing with his family’s cases and those of others.

“Rules of the game should be equal, but the yardstick is different in our cases.”

While referring to remarks of the Supreme Court judges, he said that it was not appropriate for them to use language such as ‘Sicilian mafia’ and ‘Godfather’.



He was of the view that the recent court judgments affected the economic growth at a time when the PML-N government was successfully overcoming issues like terrorism and unemployment.

On Wednesday, three witnesses, Mazhar Raza Bangash, Shehbaz and Rashid recorded their statements and were cross-examined by defence counsels Khawaja Haris and Amjad Pervez.

During the proceedings, NAB prosecutors and the defence counsel exchanged hot words for trying to confuse a witness.

During cross-examination, Bangash, who was tasked to hand over some British court documents pertaining to the Al Towfeeq Company case, admitted that neither Sharif nor his children were defendants in the case revolving around the Avenfield Apartments.

He said that Mian Mohammad Sharif and Mian Mohammad Shebaz Sharif were defendants in that case.

“I can’t comment on the content of documents ... I’m seeing these documents after 19 years. I don’t remember much now,” he said. “Nawaz Sharif was not one of the defendants or persons upon whom the Queen Bench Division order’s service was to be affected,” he admitted.

The fourth witness, Malik Tayyab Moazzam, partially recorded his statement. It will be completed on Monday.