In Pakistan everything and anything is possible if the military is on your side – political parties are created or destroyed, prime ministers are ‘selected’ ‘arrested’ ‘hanged’ or ‘acquitted’ depending solely on the whims of the Army Chief.
Three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must be feeling vindicated right now as he receives acquittals in almost every case that has been lodged against him.
On Tuesday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference. A two-judge bench comprising IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict, which was reserved earlier in the day, while hearing Nawaz’s appeal against his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference. The same bench had acquitted the PML-N leader in the Avenfield reference on November 29.
As a story in The News reports “It is worth mentioning that despite the case being pending since 2017, the NAB prosecutor failed to provide any evidence against the PML-N supremo for having assets beyond means, noting that the reference was filed based on directions from the JIT — formed on the SC’s direction. An accountability court on December 24, 2018, sentenced the former prime minister to seven years in jail and imposed a fine of 2.5 million pounds in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference.”
Nawaz Sharif and his family and party are on cloud nine right now but if the veteran Punjabi leader is as prudent as those close to him assert, he is then he will remember the lessons of the last three times that he was removed from power and be wary of getting too close to the army. If not, then there is little likelihood that Nawaz’s potential fourth-term as PM will be any different from the last three.
