ISLAMABAD: As the first stage of trial of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was wrapped up in the Accountability Court after sixteen months, the ex-premier set a precedent of record personal appearances before the subordinate judicial forum for at least 165 times since September, 2017.Many rare highlights and high points of the high-profile trial transpired in the judicial history of Pakistan. One, the fate of the three-time prime minister and two-time chief minister Nawaz Sharif hangs in the balance till the release of the verdict by Judge Arshad Malik to be handed a day before Nawaz Sharif’s birthday. He is prepared for any kind of eventuality otherwise he would not have come back to offer arrest following his conviction in the third reference in July.Two, never before has a ruler, who remained in power for three and a half decades, been tried in the references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) at such a fast track. A large number of other NAB references against different persons including politicians are proceeding at the normal pace in several accountability courts.Three, never before has any accused person regardless of his stature arraigned by the NAB since 1999 appeared before any accountability court for such innumerable times.Four, it was the first time that the trial was held on day to day basis, five times a week. At one stage, the Supreme Court wanted the trial court to sit even on Saturdays and Sundays as well to accelerate the proceedings for their hurried conclusion but the Sharif family’s lead counsel Khawaja Haris refused to be part of such process on weekly holidays as he could not bear this kind of professional brunt.Five, leaving everything aside Nawaz Sharif made it a point to attend the hearings every day and never relied on any excuse for exemption from personal appearance. However, whenever he sought exemption for any reason, it was mostly denied. His longest absence from the accountability court happened when he was in London from mid-June to mid-July to attend his terminally ill hospitalised wife, Begum Kulsoom.Six, by attending each and every hearing, Nawaz Sharif demonstrated a remarkable resilience and proved that he is prepared to face his trial as required by the law. Despite his reservations, he tried hard to give a lie to the charges framed against him and made it clear that he would fight the legal battle till the end. His chief lawyer impressively displayed equal if not more determination, resolve and professionalism to argue the case. He did not take a single adjournment even when he had to appear before the superior courts in the Sharif family’s cases related to the references. Hardly ever any lawyer of his caliber exhibited such persistence and doggedness. He was always well-prepared.Seven, the NAB did no investigation whatsoever to formulate these three references, and when it made an effort to question the accused persons, the Sharif family did not show up, ignoring its notices. The references were submitted in the court on the direction of the Supreme Court contained in the Panama judgment given in July last year.Eight, the NAB’s reliance was on the findings of the Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT). Its prosecutors admitted in the court many times that they were entirely depending on the JIT reports.Nine, it was the first case of its nature when a monitoring judge was appointed to supervise the accountability court proceedings and the process of preparing and filing of references by the NAB.Ten, no NAB case was ever given such a tight schedule to conclude. The apex court gave repeated extensions with everyone spanning a few weeks to the timeframe to wind up the cases. At the time of granting every extension, the court ordered speedy disposal of the references to avoid further delay. Eleven, of the three references, the one was decided by Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir in July in which he held that no corruption was proven against Nawaz Sharif in the London apartments’ case. There was no determination of the price of these flats as the NAB did not come out with it although Nawaz Sharif and Maryam were tried on the charge of having assets beyond means. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) accepted the bail of the father and daughter in a hard-hitting order that the NAB later challenged in the Supreme Court where a larger bench will hear it.Twelve, since the beginning of Nawaz Sharif’s trial, the former prime minister spent 65 days in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi due to his conviction handed on July 6 by the Accountability Court in the apartments’ reference. At the time, he was in London. He and Maryam returned home on July 13 to court arrest. The IHC bailed them out on September 19.Thirteen, during his incarceration Begum Kulsoom passed away after a prolonged illness in London that extremely shook Nawaz Sharif and Maryam. After that, the duo remained quiet and inactive politically for a long time. Particularly, since then Maryam has neither issued a single political statement nor has she been seen at any political activity. Even her twitter account that had been exceedingly active, engaging attention of all and sundry has been silent.Fourteen, Nawaz Sharif’s acquittal or sentencing in the instant two references will have a strong impact on the political landscape. Those who claim they will be relieved in case of his conviction nurse a misplaced, tunnel view.Fifteen, during Nawaz Sharif’s trials and tribulations, it has been consoling for him that his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has not only been intact but showed good performance against heavy odds in the July general elections and subsequent by-polls.Sixteen, the PML-N, under his guidance, is playing a vibrant role in the two parliamentary chambers in conjunction with other opposition parties. Despite its attacks, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is impelled to talk to the PML-N to smoothly run the legislature.Seventeen, during the proceedings in the Panama case in the Supreme Court and subsequent hearings in the Accountability Court, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) kept slamming Nawaz Sharif with vows never to break bread with him as it has already tremendously suffered due to its policy of reconciliation. But as PPP supremo Asif Zardari is facing the heat of accountability, he is keen to make an alliance with the PML-N, which, however, is not very vigorous and forthcoming.The judgment of the accountability either way will mark the end of the first phase of the trial. The second stage will come in the IHC and the conclusive phase will be in the Supreme Court.
from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2UYheQ8
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