Sharif: SC rigging poll by putting date of verdict days before ballot
ISLAMABAD : A frustrated and angry Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday the Pakistan Supreme Court’s directions to fix July 10 as the date for the verdict in a corruption trial against members of his family was a blatant attempt at rigging before the July 25 general elections.
“Everyone knows what ‘wrap this up in four weeks’ means. July 10 is right before the elections. If this isn’t pre-poll rigging, then what it?” said Sharif. “The Supreme Court is influencing the case before the general elections.”
Sharif told the media that the number of hearings and roundthe-clock proceedings in the anticorruption court hearing the cases against his family are unprecedented and unheard of.
“If they want to hang me, they should. If they want to send us to jail, they should,” he said.
Referring to earlier remarks by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar regarding Sharif approaching the apex court for an exemption, the PML-N leader clarified that all exemption pleas were submitted in the anti-corruption court and not the Supreme Court. He said the security provided to him, a three-time prime minister, currently equalled to “nothing”.
Commenting on former president Pervez Musharraf’s return to Pakistan from self-exile, Sharif reiterated that he had been a dictator and not a politician.
“He imposed martial law, and violated the Constitution twice. But capital punishment is reserved for people like us, not him. The one that imposed martial law has medals and guarantees at his beck and call, while a three-time prime minister’s name is to be put on Exit Control List,” he said, referring to a list of people barred from leaving the country.
After Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Haris recused himself from the case on Monday, he is left without legal representation. During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Mohammad Bashir of the anticorruption court asked whether Sharif had appointed a new defence counsel.
Sharif answered it was not possible to procure a new legal team at such short notice. “Haris has worked hard on this case,” he remarked.
The judge informed Sharif that he had not accepted Haris’ resignation as yet and gave the ousted prime minister until June 19 to either appoint a new legal team or convince Haris to continue representing him.