As the Sharif brothers are contemplating to file a review petition in the post-24th March Supreme Court, former President of Pakistan Rafiq Tarar has reconfirmed that he had commuted the sentence awarded to PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif and as such there is no case against him.
Rafiq Tarar told Business Recorder here on Friday that the then COAS Pervez Musharraf had wanted that the petition for commutation of sentence to Nawaz Sharif be submitted to him, but contrary to that, the petition was submitted to him (the then President of Pakistan) and he commuted the sentence as per constitutional provisions.
When asked about disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif by PCO judges, he said, "everybody knows about these courts." Asked whether he would appear in the Supreme Court to give evidence that he had commuted the sentence as President of Pakistan, Tarar said, "it is not necessary since all the record is available."
It may be mentioned that Article 45 of the Constitution says "The President shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority." It may be recalled that an anti-terrorism court had sentenced Nawaz Sharif to life imprisonment while the National Accountability Bureau (Nab) had disqualified him for 21 years.