The government on Saturday announced that it respects the Lahore High Court's (LHC) verdict. Addressing a joint press conference, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Anwar Mansoor Khan along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said the health of Nawaz Sharif is a humanitarian matter and it should not be turned into political issue.
He said some legal points involved in this issue are crucial. He said NAB law clearly states that the sentence of a convict could not be suspended or bailed. He said when the issue came into the court, the federal government said there should be some surety or indemnity for going abroad. He said unfortunately Nawaz Sharif has a precedent of not abiding by the undertakings he made in the past. He said the court has not rejected the government's position on indemnity bond. The AGP said Lahore High Court (LHC) has given an interim order on an appeal seeking removal of former premier Nawaz Sharif's name from ECL. He said this is not a final verdict but the government will act on the orders issued by the court.
He said this is a crucial verdict as LHC has only announced an interim order and the court will resume hearing on the matter in January. He further said a detailed discussion on the matter would be held in January. He said the federal cabinet would take final decision in this regard.
Speaking on the occasion, Awan condemned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership for maligning Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.
She said the government from the very first day is determined to sort out the issue of Nawaz Sharif on humanitarian grounds and the Prime Minister graciously allowed formation of a medical board for him.
The PM even stopped the spokespersons for the government from commenting on the health of ailing Sharif, she said, adding the government showed goodwill gestures at every step.
Awan reiterated that the subcommittee of cabinet headed by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Nasim reviewed the application of Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif in light of the relevant laws with utmost honesty and sincerity.
"The government keeping in mind the track record of Sharif family sought indemnity bonds from them for the return of Mian Nawaz Sharif after recovery," she said, adding that "Unfortunately Sharif has always violated his commitment."
She said the political opponents did politics in open ground and "that is the beauty of democracy", but in the case of Mian Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Imran Khan extended all his support to him on humanitarian grounds.
She said the leadership of PML-N instead of appreciating Prime Minister's support, politicized the whole issue which also irritated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership as well as the workers. She went on to say they cannot take a final decision about their legal and constitutional steps without reading the detailed verdict.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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