Nawaz calls verdict a ‘joke’, plans to go to people’s court

Pakistan's ousted prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, sharply criticised the Supreme Court verdict that forced him to step down last week and said he was planning a big rally in his hometown, Lahore, to galvanise public support for his political party and his future, reports The Times of India.

"What can be a bigger joke with the nation, and with a prime minister of the country, than this?" Sharif said, referring to the court verdict, in his first news conference since his removal from office on July 28 after the court ruled that corruption allegations had disqualified him. "It was not a verdict over corruption or kickbacks or embezzlement in the state funds," said Sharif.

"Had it been so, I would have been very ashamed." Sharif 's political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, elected one of his longtime loyalists as PM, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who is expected to lead the government until general elections scheduled for next year.

The new cabinet, sworn in on Friday, included almost all the ministers who had served under Sharif. Both those developments seemed to indicate that Sharif, a populist leader who has served as PM three times, maintains a strong hold on his political party and will continue to call the shots from behind the scenes. After months of court hearings and an investigation, the Supreme Court concluded in July that Sharif and his children could not justify the means to buy the expensive properties they owned in London.

Sharif in his news conference stopped short of criticising Pakistan's powerful military, elements of which have been opposed to his rule. His attempts to establish civilian authority in areas that had long been dominated by generals, especially foreign policy, were thwarted by the military. As Sharif plans to visit Lahore on Wednesday, his political power base, party members and supporters there are making elaborate arrangements for his welcome.

Sharif had initially planned to go to his hometown on Sunday by way of a highway he built during his second tenure as prime minister in the late 1990s, and which he takes great pride in. But party leaders urged Sharif to travel to Lahore by the historic Grand Trunk Road, which runs through the center of major cities where Sharif is hugely popular. Since his removal, Sharif has seemed buoyed by the warm reception he has received during his impromptu appearances in public. He said he plans to visit different parts of the country in the coming weeks.

Source: timesofindia