‘Nawaz Sharif is a fugitive’

‘Nawaz Sharif is a fugitive’

‘Nawaz Sharif is a fugitive’
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The recent announcement of a mini-budget by the government has ensued a heated debate in the Parliament and across the country. By when will you present it in the Senate and how do you intend to tackle the Opposition which is determined not to get it passed?

 

Dr Babar Awan (DBA): Dr Babar Awan (DBA): Before I start answering your questions, I want to say that 2021 was an extremely successful administrative year for the government in terms of controlling and handling the Covid-19, a fact that has been widely recognised by the entire world. Boris Johnson has appreciated us along with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international institutions. The Almighty Allah has been very kind and we had a better year of containing the spike of Covid-19 as compared to other countries. We must appreciate the decisions of Prime Minister Imran Khan owing to which there was no food shortage anywhere in the country despite the pandemic. We should admire and honour the experts belonging to the health profession including doctors, nurses and other support staff who gave their lives in the line of duty to save and treat the citizens of Pakistan from Covid-19.

Now coming to your question, the day we decided to present the budget amendment act in the Parliament (National Assembly), there were two ways of going about it. One was to simply implement it, which would not have required any voting. The other was to present it and hold voting on it. When I was making the agenda, I deliberately added the ordinances on which the voting could be done and it could be assessed that which side has the majority on its side – the government or the Opposition. The result of the voting was that our 151 members were present in the assembly as compared to 126 members of the Opposition. The important and interesting thing of this ratio was that those leaders belonging to the Opposition who were making tall claims since the last two months that if any amendment is made to the finance act, we will not allow the government to get it passed, didn’t even attend the session.

I later met Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 3rd and received a call from President Arif Alvi after which we decided that the Finance Act Amendment Bill – which was earlier presented in the National Assembly – will be presented in the Senate on January 4th by the Finance Ministry. As for the National Assembly session to debate the bill which you have referred to, we are calling it on January 10th Inshallah. I am hopeful this Finance Act Amendment Bill will go into the finance committee and the whole Senate can give proposals on it. I want to offer the Opposition that they should give their input on this Finance Act Amendment Bill within 14 days, as mentioned in the Constitution.

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It is a small bill, so I think the proposals will come in three to four days. If they (Opposition) want to give input in the National Assembly they are more than welcome to do it as well. I have talked to the Prime Minister as well and he has also said that all the options are open from our side.

Actually, I want to take you to the real issue which is that basically, legislation is carried out in two ways. You remember when I was the member of the Opposition in the Senate, I submitted the private member bill for the appointment of female judges to the Supreme Court of Pakistan and we also submitted many important private member bills. Even if they want to submit private member bills, we are ready to consider and discuss them. However, I am upset at the fact that in the last session, the Opposition members crossed all the limits and ignored the decorum, barging right through and in front of the Finance Minister and our senior members. If you have the majority, then you can win against us on the floor of the House as far as approval of legislation is concerned. But you cannot win against us by pushing and punching us as Parliament is not a wrestling arena. I must also say this with a sad heart that more than 3,500 people are working behind the scene to ensure one full day of the session and there are 345 members for whom all the arrangements are made, including uninterrupted electricity, heaters, sound system etc on which hundreds of thousands of rupees are spent. If this is the end result (of this effort) then it is very painful and sad.

 

 

People are talking about PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s possible return. When such reports first began to take rounds, your party said that they will move to court against the guarantor, which is Nawaz’s younger brother Shehbaz Sharif. What legal actions could be taken against the guarantor?

 

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DBA: There are two things, and two suspects against whom the proceedings could be initiated. One is Nawaz Sharif sahib, who is completely fit and hasn’t initiated his treatment in the UK till today. Basically, he left the country by telling a lie. Secondly, another accused, Maryam Nawaz, also got the bail in that case who said that she had to look after her father and nobody knows more than her about her father’s illness. I remember I also told you at that time that one of her sisters is in London who could look after Nawaz better than Maryam. However, Maryam was granted bail and its cancellation petition is now in court. The matter is sub-judice so I won’t say much about it.

As far as the argument held in Lahore regarding the guarantor, there was a small group of cabinet members comprising 5 to 6 people including two Punjab leaders – one from our party and the other from the coalition who were debating over it. I had pointed out then that the bigger the judgment, the bigger should be the guarantee for it. That issue was taken up on our behalf by the law officer, but the court has said that Rs50 stamp paper is more than enough as the guarantee document. So, the guarantee that they have taken is written on a Rs 50 stamp paper.

The other aspect is what the guarantor had said. Shehbaz Sharif said that he would bring Nawaz back as soon as he recovers from his illness. But he was never ill, so it was a lie. Lying of this sort is known as perjury in court. There are clauses in CrPc as well in the Penal Code of Pakistan according to which action could be taken against Shehbaz Sharif for submitting a false affidavit or document. If that is the case, the Lahore High Court could take back the relief awarded to the Sharif brothers. Secondly, if a perjury case is registered in court, the law and the judgments of Supreme Court of Pakistan say that the court before which the perjury was done will not hear the case and will refer it to the lower courts. Its trial can be done by session courts from thereon. At the moment the problem for Nawaz Sharif Sahib in London is that the solicitors who are giving ads of their law firms have placed his picture there and have said that, “contact us if you want immigration and if you have any other problem, come to us and we will help you with immigration.” This is being run on their social media and some of the lawyers from London also shared this with me. Now this is a shameful thing really. If someone claims that he is locking a deal against the elected government then it is known as conspiracy and not deal. It is just an attempt to violate the Constitution of Pakistan from Nawaz Sharif, nothing else. No deal of any sort is going to happen, rest assured.

 

 

But the affidavit submitted by Shehbaz Sharif has two key points; one that he would return within four weeks or as soon as Nawaz recovers.  Now how will this be established that the ex-PM’s health condition is not good or he hasn’t initiated a treatment there?

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DBA: Look, if someone puts his hand on his eyes to say there is no sunlight, it will not stop the sun from shining. It is evident that Nawaz Sharif hasn’t visited any hospital or got admitted to any in the UK. All of the leading four or five hospitals in London have no record of Nawaz visiting them. The onus is on the Sharif brothers now as they had said that Nawaz Sharif will return after the treatment. It is one big white lie. Some of the PML-N members have been saying that he will return but there is no sign of it.

I want to ask here: who is stopping him (Nawaz) from coming to Pakistan? Even our Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad sahib, in an exclusive interview with you, and in a press- conference said that he will provide Nawaz with an air ticket as soon as he agrees to return. But I know and you know that he (Nawaz) will not return.

 

 

Nawaz Sharif will not return because he fears that the government will send him to prison…

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DBA: No, we will not arrest him. I promise that the government will not arrest him. But he (Nawaz) will still not come back because he can’t face the people since he is a fugitive, a prisoner who escaped by lying to one and all. The courts don’t give the right of bail to fugitive prisoners and they say that they cannot give bail to him.

Now let me tell you the last very important thing that will be raised because of this issue. If he returns, the court hearings against him will not take place in the back room. This is an independent judiciary. According to the Constitution, in the government cases where billions of rupees were spent, the accused will have to explain in court as to why he or she was absconding or could not ensure presence in court. Nawaz Sharif and PML-N lost the case in the first judgment, and lost again in the review judgment. So, the efflux of time or doctrine of limitation doesn’t apply to the case of the former premier, because the time has passed.

Let me explain this further with an example from the past. I had resigned from the law ministry in the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case. I had argued that it is a judicial murder and Justice Nasim Hasan Shah had agreed to it while the facts also prove the same. When I presented my arguments along with the supporting documents, the judge admitted that yes, it was a wrong decision, but since the time has passed, we cannot change the decision and the review has been omitted as well. All this is on record at the Supreme Court of Pakistan. But in the case of Nawaz, here is an ex-prime minister who is visiting restaurants, is having coffee, is running around and is very much alive. So, his time to defend himself and his lies has passed. However, after review, if he (Nawaz) gets any kind of relief for his departure under article 184 (3), then let me say that a series of pandora’s boxes will open and so many past cases in the country’s history will have to be re-opened.

 

 

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Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry mentioned that an extradition agreement with the UK is going to be reached after which Nawaz Sharif will be brought back. Is anything like this in the offing?

 

DBA: Yes, this was discussed in a meeting and I was part of that meeting. I think it is at an advanced stage. Secondly, when the information minister says that we will bring him back, it means that the government will give him (Nawaz) some travel document or a one time passport could be issued. But the shameful thing is that the three-time prime minister blatantly lied and fled the country.

 

 

Have the relations between the Election Commission and the PTI government improved? Will the next election be held using EVMs?

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DBA: We haven’t held a rally for the ECP like the Opposition has. For example, when a video was posted on their social media site, the matter was initiated from there. As far as having a point-of-view is concerned, all the state institutions are free to have their positions on any issue and there is no harm in that. But of course, we do not expect any institution to become a party on any issue.

As far as the electronic voting is concerned, the next general elections will be held using EVMs and I want to reassure the overseas Pakistanis on the behalf of Prime Minister Imran Khan and my ministry that they will also vote in the next elections and will also participate fully.

Earlier, when a few things were leaked, we were upset but the ECP said that they hadn’t leaked it and a few things were totally fake and were shared with their name. As I am always present in all the committees and this ordinance of Voting Right for Overseas Pakistanis was drafted by my ministry, I would say that to reject it is not a point of view but a verdict of sorts.

But having said that, now the government is making progress on this front and the election commission has also formed multiple committees on its implementation and is presently working on it. Of course, there is harmony amongst the state institutions and they have the best possible working relationship I would say. Because I head the parliamentary affairs ministry and carefully devise the ordinances and rules, I ensure that we have a complete understanding of issues with the ECP. So as far as I am concerned, we have no issues with them whatsoever.

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