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| Sharif's punishment may open doors for Army rule in Pak | | | It is said that misfortunes never come alone. And this adage fits well in the struggle of former Prime Minister of Pakistan,Nawaz Sharif.On one had he has been facing his wife's cancer and on the other hand he is faced with the 10-year punishment for his involvement in Panama case.What is shocking is the way 10-year punishment was awarded just a week ahead of the General elections. It is not yet known whether Sharif's punishment has opened the doors for the Army to take over even before the General elections were completed. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that he was ready to face the 10-year imprisonment, which he said was a punishment for his struggle to free the people of the country from the "slavery imposed on them by some generals and judges."Sharif, who is in London to attend his wife battling cancer, has said that he would come back to Pakistan to face imprisonment after his wife feels better, but did not give any timeframe of his return.
Sharif was sentenced on corruption charges by a court in Islamabad, which said that the former chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and his family owned assets beyond known means and could not prove their claims of making the assets with legitimate money.The court also imposed a fine of 8 million pounds (10.63 million U.S. dollars) on Sharif andordered to confiscate his apartments in London, which is said to be made with the corruption money in 1994.The judge also sentenced Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz seven years in prison for assisting his father in making offshore companies to hide their illegally earned money, and for forging documents presented in the court during the trial. Her husband Muhammad Safdar also got one year imprisonment in the same case. Sharif was removed from the office of prime minister in July 2017. He was also barred from holding any political office. This way Sharif cannot contest the ensuing elections and his responsibility of running the country,if the elections were held and the PML-N won the poll battle may fall on his brother Shabzaz Sharif who used to be the Punjab Chief Minister
The National Accountability Bureau had filed the case, along with two others, on the Supreme Court's directives in the Panamagate verdict last year which disqualified Sharif, the three-time PM.Sharif, 68, is currently in London attending to his wife Kulsoom Nawaz, diagnosed with throat cancer last year.The ruling came weeks before the general elections and analysts say it could adversely hit the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party headed by Sharif. After the verdict, Maryam and Safdar were disqualified from contesting elections.Soon after the verdict, Maryam, considered to be Sharif's heir apparent, took to Twitter: "This is a very small punishment for firmly standing in front of unseen forces.
The morale to fight against oppression has increased these days.This way Sharif his daughter and other family members fear the country could be under Army rule if the elections were not held.Will the court punishment affect the image of Nawaz Sharif and his party ? It is a moot question because other political leaders have amassed huge wealth by carrying out fraudulent deals. |
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