Nawaz says ouster a joke, will become premier again
Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday termed his disqualification from premiership as a “joke” and exuded confidence that he will be elected premier for a fourth time.
A five-member Supreme Court bench last month disqualified Sharif for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal, forcing the prime minister to quit.
Addressing a gathering in Gujrat town on the third day of his journey from Islamabad to Lahore via the Grand Trunk Road, Sharif said even the judges who disqualified him failed to point out a single example of corruption against him.
“Should this even be called a disqualification? I will be made prime minister by the masses again tomorrow,” he told a cheering crowd.
“They have only removed me on paper but they have not removed me from your hearts. Is this removing me at all?” Sharif asked. He asked people to stand by him to make sure that their vote is respected.
“I cannot accept this joke. Can you accept this joke that you elect someone, then he is disgraced and ousted,” he said.
“May I ask why I was ousted? Did I commit any kind of corruption? I am innocent and did not commit any financial wrong. That has been said by the judges who disqualified me. Then why I have been ousted?”
Sharif said the time had come to change the country.
“We would have to make sure that your vote is respected. It is a question of respect for vote of 20 crore people. I would not allow anyone to trample your right to elect leaders of choice,” he said.
The former premier said he would announce his future plan of action and asked his supporters to wait for it. PTI