My 100 court appearances unprecedented — Sharif
Former prime minister says anti-graft agency has failed to prove its allegations
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif said he has appeared 100 times before the court in his cases, while his lawyer Khawaja Haris has toiled for nine months on his behalf.
Speaking outside the Accountability Court, the ex-premier accused former president Pervez Musharraf of throwing the country into darkness and abrogating the constitution.
Sharif expressed dismay over his lawyer Khawaja Haris’s recusal in his case and said, “I spoke to Khawaja Haris. It’s an uphill task to get another lawyer to fight this case in the current situation.”
He said he travelled daily from Lahore to appear before the court.
“I had never asked for immunity other than permission to go abroad,” he said.
Sharif said he has appeared in 100 hearings before the court in his cases and there is no such precedent.
“If it is a free trial then there should be the right to have the lawyer of personal will. This case is one of its own kind and has no match,” he said.
He further said the monitoring judge has set a two-month time limit while other cases of such nature drag for 10 years. He lamented it was painful to hear the remarks in the court and he is uanable to visit his sick wife abroad.
Sharif said it was being considered to put his name on Exit Control List (ECL) and “on the contrary Musharraf who abrogated the constitution is being welcomed in the country”.
He said he has never taken bribes and there was no corruption allegation or proof of it yet is still facing a score of hearings.