‘I am coming back’: Defiant Nawaz Sharif vows to return
Hours after a Pakistani court convicted Nawaz Sharif and his daughter of corruption on Friday, the former premier said in London he will return to the country and face prison as soon as he is able to have a word with his wife who is on a ventilator.
An anticorruption court sentenced Sharif to 10 years in prison and his daughter Maryam Nawaz to seven years. Addressing a news conference in London, where his wife Kulsoom Nawaz is being treated for cancer and is currently in a coma, Sharif did not give a timeframe for his return.
Asked about this, Sharif mentioned the critical condition of his wife as the reason for not being able to return immediately. He said he would return “as soon as she recovers consciousness”.
“If the price of stopping the theft of the vote is chains, handcuffs and jail, I am coming back to pay this price,” he said. “I will continue my struggle till the people of Pakistan are freed of the slavery imposed on them by some generals and judges,” he said, flanked by his daughter Maryam.
Sharif also said he hadn’t yet read the verdict but it reportedly stated that the prosecution couldn’t prove any allegation of corruption, and this was a “matter of pride for me”.
He said he would continue his political struggle from behind bars if necessary, and urged the people to “break the chains by exercising their right to vote on July 25”.
The National Accountability Bureau ( NAB) has completed arrangements to arrest Sharif and Maryam at Lahore airport, should they return. The arrests will be made after obtaining warrants from the anti-corruption court in Islamabad in line with the law and the court’s verdict.
(Courtesy Hindustan Times)