ISLAMABAD: With only 72 hours left in expiry of the deadline, Pakistan Muslim League PMLN supremo, Mian Nawaz Sharif, is unlikely to return home and surrender himself before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in Al-Azizia reference case.
Sources said PMLN top leadership has discussed the situation arising out of IHC orders in the case, but its not in a mood to ask Nawaz Sharif to return home and surrender himself before the court in the given scenario.
The statements given by former prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and other PMLN leaders during the last couple of days in the media also reflect the same party position.
These party leaders are publically opposing return of Nawaz Sharif from UK and surrendering before the court as it, in their views, can ultimately lead him to go to jail again.
During the last hearing, IHC chief justice, Athar Minallah, had set the deadline of September 10, 2020 for PMLN supremo to return home from United Kingdom (UK) and surrender himself before the court to avoid declaring him as an absconder in Azizia reference case. The court had clearly told to the counsel of Nawaz Sharif that in case his client does not follow the orders of the court he can be declared absconder and, in such a case, the authorities can be directed to use official channel to bring him back to face his remaining term of the jail.
Nawaz Sharif was awarded jail terms for 10 years in Al- Azizia reference case by a National Accountability Court (NAB) court and after completing around one and half years term in jail he was allowed to travel to UK for treatment. Although the government did not want to allow the PMLN supremo to travel to UK for treatment on the ground that he was a convict, but it took the court order in letter and spirit and it resulted in grant of permission from the prime minister to Nawaz Sharif to go to UK for treatment .
These sources claimed that Shahbaz Sharif’s grantee had cleared the last hurdle in departure of Nawaz Sharif to Uk. Now, if Nawaz Sharif does not show- up and decides to stay back in UK, it can create a new trouble for Shahbaz Sharif.
Nawaz Sharif’s case is the only precedent in Pakistan’s history in which a convict was allowed to travel to a foreign country for treatment. It’s perhaps the only case in the history of other countries as well.
Fawad Chaudhary, federal minister for Science and Technology, is the one who is yet to believe that any convict could leave from Pakistan in a special plane for ‘treatment’ of his ‘mysterious’ disease. Since departure of Nawaz Sharif, he is repeatedly claiming at media channels that PMLN supremo’s exit for treatment of his ‘mysterious’ disease damaged Imran Khan’s government. Many other PTI stalwarts also agree with Fawad Chaudhary on the issue. On continuous demand of these PTI hawks, the federal cabinet in a recent meeting had given a direction to the concerned department to file a case with UK authorities to get extradited Nawaz Sharif from that country. The case is already filed, but PMLN leadership seems little worried about it. Its claim that UK cannot extradite Nawaz Sharif as he had been 3- time prime minister of Pakistan. Their logic may have some weightage, but the PTI government seems determined to follow its case with UK authorities to get Nawaz Sharif back to complete his remaining jail term.
