We're coming back on Friday, says Maryam

Sharifs face imminent arrest on return to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A day after being convicted by an accountability court, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam on Saturday announced to return to Pakistan on July 13 (Friday), after their legal teams suggest they must surrender themselves to authorities if they want to avail any legal remedy.

Sharif, Maryam and her husband Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar were, respectively, awarded 10-, seven- and one-year rigorous imprisonment and huge fines by the accountability court on Friday after it found them guilty in the Avenfield reference -- one of the four corruption cases filed in line with the apex court’s July 28, 2017 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

In the wake of the verdict, Sharif and Maryam, who are currently in London to visit the former PM’s ailing wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, announced to ‘immediately return’ to Pakistan but fell short of giving an exact date of arrival, saying they would return once Kulsoom gets somewhat stable..



“As part of my struggle, I am returning to Pakistan. I will pursue this struggle even in jail. I have been here for three weeks waiting for my wife to recover.

“She’s on ventilator. Once she gets better and regains consciousness, I will say my ‘salam’, have a word with her and leave for Pakistan,” Sharif had told journalists in London after the court’s verdict.

However, on Saturday the Sharifs held extensive consultations with their legal teams that told them that they would have to surrender themselves before the authorities concerned before exhausting further legal remedies, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Under the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) relevant laws, an accused who has been facing corruption reference(s) and is convicted accordingly can neither get protective bail against arrest nor can he/she appeal through their legal counsel in a higher court.

“The accused have to surrender before the authorities for arrest and appear in person before higher court of law to avail legal remedies like filing appeal against conviction and seeking stay order against arrest,” said a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N), who is also a lawyer.

“All political rhetoric apart, the reality is that our leadership is greatly unnerved by the arrest orders issued by the National Accountability Bureau as there is no option to avoid getting arrested,” he said.

Sharif, Maryam and Safdar are required to be arrested before they move the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in person to file appeal against the accountability court’s decision.

The IHC can issue stay order against the court’s Friday decision and grant bail to the accused for a specific period or till the completion of trial.



In London, Maryam on Saturday told the media that she and her father would return home on Friday.

“Earlier, we decided not to return till my mother regains senses but now my father and I have decided to return on Friday. Doctors have given us hope that my mother will regain senses in few days.”

Meanwhile, NAB announced to implement the accountability court’s judgment in letter and spirit. After receiving the arrest warrants from the accountability court, NAB had sent its team to arrest Capt (retd) Safdar who is reportedly in Mansehra.

NAB also got warrants of arrest of the deposed prime minister and his daughter from the accountability court to arrest them once they land in Pakistan.

About the reports of issuance of warrants, Maryam said: “Red warrants should be kept for dictators.”

Well-placed sources in the PML-N are, however, doubtful whether Sharifs would stand by their decision to return to Pakistan by the given date.

“I don’t think Mian sahib will take the risk of landing in Pakistan and get arrested,” said a PML-N leader in Punjab, wishing not to be named.

The sources said the former prime minister is “not ready to trust the state institutions and not willing to go behind the bars under the circumstances”.

Sharif has repeatedly criticised the security establishment, especially a premier security agency, of hatching conspiracies against him, his family and his party.

“Sharif wants to make sure that he is not arrested after landing in Pakistan despite being convicted in the Avenfield Apartments reference. However, the law does not permit obtaining protective bail after conviction in criminal cases,” the PML-N leader added.

The former prime minister’s absence from political scene is reportedly brewing problems for the former ruling party that is struggling to give momentum to its campaign for the general elections scheduled for July 25.