Nawaz prioritises accountability over power

Terms £190m settlement case ‘biggest graft scandal’ in country’s history

LAHORE:

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Friday said his party was not in pursuit of power, but gave priority to the accountability of those people who were responsible for implicating him in “fabricated” cases that led to his ouster as the prime minister in 2017.

“This [accountability] is necessary so that the truth can be known to the people and justice can prevail,” he said while addressing a PML-N parliamentary board meeting here.

He was accompanied by his brother and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and his daughter and party’s Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

Also present on the occasion was PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah.

Nawaz termed the matter of the £190 million settlement – also known as Al-Qadir Trust case – which also involved former premier Imran Khan, the “biggest corruption scandal in the history of the country”, adding that there was no doubt about it.

Apparently taking a dig at the former PTI chairman, the PML-N supremo claimed that the person who accused others of theft and robbery turned out to be the “biggest thief” himself.

مسلم لیگ (ن) کے قائد محمد نواز شریف لاہور میں پارٹی کے پارلیمانی بورڈ کے اجلاس سے خطاب کر رہے ہیں۔ https://t.co/MOFExyEYea

— PMLN (@pmln_org) December 8, 2023

“Someone who used to talk about ‘Riasat-e-Madina’ was devoid of morality,” he added while referring to Imran without mentioning his name.

The “player”, he continued, was unaware about the economy as well as international relations.

The PML-N supremo, while speaking about the Al-Qadir Trust case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), claimed that then premier Imran, during a cabinet meeting, pressured his ministers to approve an agreement with the UK's National Crime Agency on the repatriation and legalisation of illegal proceeds, without disclosing its contents.

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NAB has implicated Imran, his wife Bushra Bibi, and others in the case for allegedly obtaining monetary favours and other benefits of legalising illegal proceeds during the PTI government.

PML-N guarantees the best candidates for a better future.

Parliamentary Board Meeting.
DG Khan Division pic.twitter.com/gLNRh4EtMN

— PMLN (@pmln_org) December 8, 2023

Nawaz said good and bad times were a part of life and the PML-N, despite facing injustices, had not abandoned its patience.

The former three-time premier maintained that he desired to pull Pakistan out of the existing difficulties and bring the country back on the path of progress.

Nawaz advised those who were aspiring to join politics to go ahead with the move only to bring the country back on the path of development by taking practical steps. He continued that the political aspirants should be committed to change the fate of the country’s people.

The PML-N supremo expressed his view that if there was a passion for service, the destiny of the country would surely change.

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Nawaz said it was unfortunate to see that “games” were played to overthrow political governments as he lamented that any democratically elected prime minister had not completed their five-year tenure since the creation of Pakistan.

Recalling his ouster as the prime minister and subsequent disqualification in the Panama Papers case, he regretted that he was removed from the premiership because he had not disclosed the salary received from his son before the Election Commission of Pakistan in his annual returns.

This, he added, was a travesty of justice and atrocity against him.