LAHORE: PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday denied getting any “relief” in cases against her following the recent amendments in accountability laws, saying that she got a reprieve on merit “and that too under old NAB laws”.
Addressing a press conference hours after receiving her passport from the Lahore High Court today, Maryam called out PTI Chairman Imran Khan for claiming she went scot-free as part of an “NRO given to her party”, underlining that she served a jail sentence for over three months in a “fake case”.
Justice was overdue and it has been delivered now, the PML-N leader said.
Maryam said her party was yet to be given a “level-playing field” despite being in power. “This will only be possible when justice is meted out and Imran gets the same treatment that Nawaz Sharif was given.”
In response to a question, she said Nawaz’s “way is now clear”, adding that an application will be filed with a court apprising it of vindication from all charges.
“Only he will decide the timing but Mian Sahib will soon return to the country,” she added.
Maryam said she will try harder to get Imran punished for his “crimes”, claiming that the foreign funding case was the “father of all cases” against the former prime minister.
She castigated Imran for turning the word “neutral” into a “curse”, claiming he was raising hue and cry only because “the crutches lent to him in 2011 have been taken back”.
“If you are so popular, then why are you appealing to neutrals and forcing them to renege on their oath and help you?” she asked.
She went on to say that countries were now hesitant from sending ciphers to Pakistan assuming they might land in unwanted debates and conspiracies.
Commenting on the dismissal of the contempt notice against Imran, Maryam said she respected Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court for his decision “but I want to tell the judiciary respectfully that generosity is not shown to people like him”.
She said that along with her father Nawaz Sharif had been facing cases initiated against them after Panama Papers for six years but not a single evidence could be presented against them.
Maryam Nawaz said that she had finally got her passport back from the Lahore High Court after a period of three years however there was no any case registered against her for which her passport was taken into custody.
Maryam said she was arrested for investigation and was kept in illegal detention by the National Accountability Bureau for 57 days and was later shifted to Lot Lakhpat Jail on judicial custody where she was kept for around one and a half month. Maryam said that she did not take any immunity of being a woman and faced the cases against her by appearing in courts regularly and spending time in NAB detention.
Maryam Nawaz said that she had been appearing before the courts in Panama Papers case where not a single evidence was presented against her by the prosecution and she had been vindicated as nothing could be proved against her and father Nawaz Sharif.
She said that baseless cases were initiated against her and Nawaz Sharif to oust them from the political field. Maryam Nawaz said that she had instructed her lawyers that she did not want to take any relief or benefit from NAB amendments and would contest her case on previous NAB laws.
Maryam Nawaz said that baseless statements were being uttered by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan regarding return of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, saying that it was very unfortunate that everything was attributed to be a deal. She regretted that the PTI leadership had introduced very bad traditions in country’s politics by using abusive remarks for political opponents.
She commented that Bani Gala was worried that why country’s economy was recovering and Pakistani rupee was getting stable and Ishaq Dar’s return would further improve economic situation of the country as Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had a track record of bringing the country’s economy out of crisis.
Maryam Nawaz said the PTI chief was real master of giving ‘NRO’ to his favoured persons like Farah Gogi which had been given clean chit in corruption cases in Punjab and was sent abroad through a chartered plane.
She said that sufficient evidence had surfaced against PTI chief in foreign funding and ‘Tosha Khana’ cases and when the Election Commission of Pakistan brought his wrongdoings in foreign funding case, the PTI chief launched a campaign against the ECP chief.
Maryam Nawaz said that PTI chief Imran Khan only knew to give lecture on giving respect to women but practically he did not know how to give respect because action against her was actually taken on the direction of Imran Khan.
PTI chief’s threatening remarks against an honourable woman judge was a self evidence that he did not have any respect for others particularly for women, she added.
Maryam Nawaz said that firstly, the content of cipher was changed and then a conspiracy was hatched by the PTI leadership on the basis of cipher to use it for their personal objective.
During a recent interview PTI chief was asked about whereabouts of cipher and Imran Khan responded that he might had lost. Cipher was an important diplomatic document but the way the previous government had treated it was a worst example of non serious attitude, she added.
She said that the PTI chief had gone blind in the lust of getting power somehow that he had started criticizing national institutions. A malicious campaign was launched by the PTI social media groups against the state institutions.
Maryam Nawaz said that public funds of the KPK government were being used on PTI chief whereas infrastructure of the entire province was in need of attention of the government.
To a question, Maryam Nawaz said that she would be travelling to London to meet her father and brothers there.
To another query, she said that the PML-N was an experienced political party which had roots in the people and wanted level playing field as it was its right like any other political party.
She said that the PML-N believed in supremacy of the law and constitution and Nawaz Sharif had stressed that all institutions should work within domain. Contrary to it, she maintained that PTI had been creating divisions among the institutions and tried to make them controversial for personal gains.