Balance the scale of justice before elections: Maryam

Maryam Nawaz, the chief organiser and senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), on Friday called for the accountability of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan before calling the general elections in the country.

In a hard-hitting speech at the PML-N workers convention in Faisalabad, Maryam Nawaz told a charged crowd that those who conspired against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were now confessing and naming each other in public.

She also fired a broadside against the Supreme Court bench that disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding public office in 2017 and ordered the National Accountability Bureau to file corruption reference against him after the Panama Papers leaks.

“First, balance the scales, then hold election the next morning, I will have no objection,” Maryam told the convention. “Election will happen definitely, but first there will be accountability,” she added.

She stressed that “some decisions” had yet to be taken before calling the elections. “An innocent Nawaz Sharif has made 200 court appearances but Imran Khan made just two. This is unacceptable,” she said.

“On the one hand, two-year jail term [was awarded to the PML-N supporters] but on the other, bail in two hours [to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan]. This is unacceptable.”

She said that those who conspired against Nawaz Sharif were confessing one by one by saying that “we had conspired”. She added that all those involved in the 2017 and 2018 conspiracy were not only speaking for themselves but also revealing other characters.

According to Maryam Nawaz, the country was developing at fast pace when Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister. She added that Nawaz Sharif was returning to the country and “the day he comes back, prosperity will return to Pakistan”.

‘Panama Bench’

Limiting her criticism to only two former chief justices, Maryam cautioned Sadiq Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa that by disqualifying Nawaz Sharif, the ‘Panama Papers bench’ have done Pakistan irreparable damage and for that people will not let them “hide” in their residences.

Maryam seemingly changed her goal post from sitting judges and retired general to the retired judges of the Panama Papers bench.

This was not the first time Maryam and other leaders working in her camp had changed their targets. In the last few months, the party went from criticising former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed to only criticising the latter. However, in her speech on Friday, even the usual criticism of Gen (retd) Faiz was nowhere to be found.

Similarly, Maryam and company recently took two sitting judges of the Supreme Court (SC) directly and the incumbent chief justice of Pakistan, indirectly, in her cross heirs. However, as mentioned before, during the address in Faisalabad, Maryam by and large limited her criticism to only two retired chief justices.

She said that the nation will not spare judges of the “Panama Papers bench’ as they had not only “wronged” Nawaz but had also wreaked havoc on the entire nation by playing with the future of the once-prospering country. She also said that the “confession” of these judges was now pouring in, proving Nawaz’s “innocence”.

She further said that the remaining former judges too will soon speak up about how they “wrongfully convicted” Nawaz.

The PML-N SVP also lashed out against former prime minister Imran Khan, for selling a gifted wristwatch, for not owning his alleged daughter, and for illegally giving the benefit of 190 million pounds to a property tycoon. She alleged that Imran was a “crowd”, who was using his workers as a shield to protect him.

She announced that her father was coming back to Pakistan. She also asked her party workers to prepare for elections, however, she said that before the election a few decisions are yet to be made. “The nation will never forgive Saqib Nisar, who brought Imran Khan [to power] and Asif Saeed Khosa,” she said. “Those sitting on the Panama bench not only did enmity with Nawaz Sharif but also with the poor people of Pakistan.”

Stepping up attacks on the PTI chief, she went on to say that the Panama bench imposed “an addict” upon the country, whose economic vision was limited to the farming of dairy, eggs, chickens and cultivation of hemp.

Continuing she added that the effects of dairy farming were never visible in the country. The only thing visible during his tenure as the prime minister was the effects of the cultivation of hemp – from Zaman Park in Lahore to Bani Gala in Islamabad.

She lambasted Imran for striking such an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that pushed the country into economic crisis. “Imran Khan is responsible for the problems. Imran Khan left the country humiliated by the IMF,” she added.

She said that Imran Khan's agreement with the IMF had tied Shehbaz Sharif's hands. “But still, with his hands tied, Shahbaz Sharif will provide free flour to 80 million people of Punjab. Did anyone ever hear about such a decision by the watch thief's government.”

The PML-N leader recalled that in his brief tenure as the Punjab chief minister, Hamza Shehbaz allowed free electricity to people using less than 200 units of electricity. “Imran Khan went to the court against him for giving free electricity,” she added.

In a further attack on Imran, she charged that the PTI chief was the first leader who used women for his protection. She also lampooned Imran for not attending the court hearings.

“When the court calls, he says he is having plaster to his leg. But when he goes to his party’s rallies, the plaster comes off. I have never seen such a hypocrite, sick for the courts and fit for rallies.”

She expressed sorrow over the death of PTI worker Zil-e-Shah during violence in Lahore on Wednesday. “People say he was killed in a road accident. May Allah bless his soul,” she said. However, she slammed Imran for not visiting the bereaved family.

The PML-N leader said that the establishment had thrown Imran like a garbage bag. “The people of Punjab, know your enemy!” she told the crowd, asking the party workers to prepare for the elections and get ready to win them.

Speaking on the occasion, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that “we are ready for contesting the election and we will win. However, he added that the election didn’t mean that “you [Imran] won't be held accountable”.

Sanullah said that Imran would be arrested in the cases against him. “Sometimes you hide behind courts, or hide behind lawyers, [but] you will get tired while running and then you will be caught.”