Sharif terms change of Balochistan CM a joke with people

Deposed premier questions timing of the PAT-led protest

ISLAMABAD: Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif has questioned the timing and purpose of an anti-government movement led by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and supported by mainstream parties, and advised them to wait for another four to five months till completion of the government tenure.

“I do not understand why the opposition is planning a movement against the government now. Only four or five months are left for the government to complete its tenure. Staging yet another sit-in at this juncture is devoid of any purpose,” he said on Tuesday.

The former prime minister, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 28 for hiding his assets and is now facing corruption references in an accountability court, was speaking to reporters outside the accountability court in Islamabad.

The PAT led by Dr Tahirul Qadri has been demanding resignations of Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanullah over their alleged role in the 2014 killing of 14 PAT workers by the police in Lahore’s Model Town.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are among the opposition parties that have joined hands with the PAT for its scheduled protest on January 17 [today].

“Why has Maulana sahib [Qadri] arrived from Canada at this point in time? What are the reasons behind their calls for a movement against us? Maulana sahib should wait for another four to five months and let the people decide for themselves,” said the ruling party chief. “Answer to several questions can be obtained if one focuses on the purpose of the protest call,” he added as if answering his own questions.



Responding to a question about the political crisis in Balochistan which led to the end of the ruling party’s government in the province, Sharif said electing a man, who could not muster enough support from people, as chief minister of the province was a horrific joke.

“Troubles of the province are of a very serious nature and a man who got roughly 500 votes in the election and became the chief minister will never be able to tackle these problems. It is nothing but a joke being played with the people of Pakistan,” he said.

He revealed that he was in contact with the leadership of the province in this regard, adding that a meeting had been called in a couple of days to discuss the prevailing issues.

Commenting on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference against him and his family members, Sharif said: “There is nothing in the cases. You [reporters] are here every time and know how strong these cases are”.

During the talk, he shared an anecdote about a film producer who invested huge money in making a film, adding that when the movie was released someone asked what kind of response it got.

“Pehlay haftay zabardast chali, lekin dosray haftay se zabardasti chal rahi he,” Sharif quoted the producer as saying while implying that the Panamagate trial got a superb response earlier but now it was being dragged on.

Court proceedings

Earlier, two prosecution witnesses gave their statements before the accountability court but the third witness, Afaq Ahmed, could not give his testimony as original record of the Panama Papers case and report of the joint investigation team (JIT) were not presented before the accountability court.

NAB officials informed the court that they had already requisitioned the record available with the Supreme Court, but had not received it yet.



Talking to The Express Tribune, NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said the watchdog had already submitted copies of the record. “It’s now up to the accountability court to use that record or wait for the original record available with the Supreme Court,” he said.

Ahmed, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented documents pertaining to ‘Qatari letter’ which he had sent to JIT head Wajid Zia without opening the seal of the envelope that contained them.

In its July 28 judgment, the apex court had directed the top graft buster to file references against Sharif, his sons, daughter, and son in-law within six weeks.

The NAB had filed one references against Sharif, Maryam, Hussain, Hassan and Captain (retd) Safdar relating to Avenfield properties comprising flat No 16 and 16-A, 17 and 17-A Avenfield House at Park Lane.

The former premier and his sons have been named in all three references while Maryam and Safdar have only been named in the Avenfield reference. The court will resume hearing on January 23.