Govt ramps up efforts to bring back Nawaz

Adviser says ex-PM hasn’t met any of the conditions on which he was allowed to travel abroad

LAHORE:

The PM’s accountability adviser on Saturday maintained that convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif was allowed to leave left the country subject to certain conditions but none of them had been met, as the PTI-led federal government is stepping up its efforts for the repatriation of the PML-N supreme leader, who is in London for the treatment of a complicated coronary artery disease.

“He [Nawaz] was granted permission to leave the country for medical treatment, provided that he would return within a stipulated time period,” Mirza Shahzad Akbar said at a news conference in Lahore.

“He also had to submit his periodical medical reports to the court and the Punjab government and keep them updated about his treatment,” he added.

“However, he has neither submitted these reports to the court, nor to the Punjab government.”

The adviser pointed out that in October last year, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended the sentence of the Sharif family patriarch on medical grounds for eight weeks in the Al Azizia case.

“The bail was granted on the condition that if he did not recover after eight weeks, the Punjab government will take up the matter under CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure] and conduct a proper hearing,” Akbar added.

In November, Nawaz’s brother Shehbaz Sharif, the PML-N president and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, submitted an undertaking to Lahore High Court that he would ensure the return of the former premier within four weeks or when doctors certified that he had regained his health. The PML-N leader left for London that same month.

The adviser noted that when Nawaz’s eight-week bail expired in December when he was in London, the former prime minister had appealed to the Punjab government for its extension.

“As the bail was granted on medical grounds, the Punjab government had formed another medical board. The board sought fresh reports of his treatment in London,” he added. “The board was not satisfied with the reports as he was not even been administered an injection there [in London].”

The board had recommended against granting an extension in Nawaz’s bail.

The adviser noted that three court hearings were held in February where the former premier’s lawyers and PML-N members submitted reports on Nawaz's health condition.

However, the medical board was dissatisfied with the reports and had rejected them.

The Punjab home department then rejected an extension in Nawaz’s bail and sought his immediate return to the country.

The adviser pointed out that Nawaz had recently informed the IHC through his lawyer that he had not received the Punjab government’s order.

“The PML-N has received the order. I have even brought it with me here so that someone can send it to him.”

The adviser said the order was also sent to the foreign affairs ministry so that the UK authorities could be approached for Nawaz’s repatriation.

The letter was sent to the UK authorities in March informing them that Nawaz’s request to allow a further extension in his bail on medical grounds had been rejected and he should be repatriated.

The IHC has recently observed that the bail it had granted to the former premier had become ineffective, and he was apparently an absconder now.

"The federal government has decided to take the matter forward with the help of NAB [National Accountability Bureau]," the adviser said.

"This dual standard of accountability cannot be allowed in Pakistan. If a common man is somehow released in parole, he has return [to jail]. But Nawaz Sharif, who has been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court and found guilty in two cases, is enjoying his life in London."

The PM’s aide said the government wanted to uphold the writ of law.

He added that the legal action would be taken on the undertaking submitted to the court by Shehbaz as he was responsible for ensuring his brother’s return.

 Akbar said the government would also ensure the repatriation of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who was declared an absconder by an accountability court in 2017 and currently living in London.

“We will also bring back Nawaz Sharif’s children.”

The adviser said the relevant institutions had stepped up their efforts against PTI leader Jahangir Tareen and Shehbaz’s son Suleman Shehbaz, who were also abroad.

"If these people resist being a part of an investigation, red warrants would be issued against them.”

Akbar also ruled out the possibility of Prime Minister Imran Khan giving an “NRO” the opposition parties.