‘Witch-hunt’: Ali Nawaz Shah’s sentence politically motivated, says Khursheed Shah

Opposition leader urges top court, SHC to take notice of PPP lawmaker’s treatment

KARACHI: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on Saturday urged the Supreme Court and Sindh High Court (SHC) to take suo motu notice of the sentencing of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Syed Ali Nawaz Shah by an accountability court.

Addressing a news conference at the party’s media cell in Karachi, Khursheed said the five-year jail sentence handed to Ali Nawaz was ‘politically motivated’.

“The case against Ali Nawaz Shah was registered by the government under a regressive policy of political witch-hunting and victimisation,” the opposition leader said. “The judiciary had dismissed cases against Ali Nawaz Shah in the past, but the National Accountability Bureau has re-opened them.”

Khursheed claimed Ali Nawaz was the only person who refused to benefit from the National Reconciliation Ordinance. “He reposed trust in the judicial system, but unfortunately, he has now been sent to jail,” he said.

The opposition leader added that Ali Nawaz enjoyed a good reputation in all political circles, not just the PPP. “No one can believe he has been sentenced for five years.”

Stressing that the PPP had always believed in the judiciary and respected its decisions, he called on the higher courts to take notice of Ali Nawaz’s case. He said failure to provide Ali Nawaz timely justice would remove public trust in the judicial system.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2015.