A leaked audio clip in Pakistan has confirmed the role of the country’s all-powerful army in keeping former prime minister Nawaz Sharif mired in legal troubles and out of political action just before the 2018 elections.
The audio clip, shared by journalist Ahmed Noorani, contains a conversation purportedly between former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar and a subordinate about the army, referred to as “an institution”, wanting Sharif, mentioned by his moniker “Miyan Sahib” to be penalised.
A forensic audit of the audio by an American firm said the clip had not been edited. The operative part of the clip contains the following conversation:
Justice Nisar: Let me be blunt about it. There is an institution which wants Miyan Sahib to be penalised. They want us to bring down Miyan Sahib even his daughter (Maryam) should be punished.
Second Voice: In my opinion Maryam doesn’t merit sentence…
Justice Nisar: You are right. I spoke to my friends also, but they don’t agree. So let it be…
A judgement delivered few days later declared Sharif ineligible for elections, which was won by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.
Speaking to News18, a source close to Sharif claimed vindication. “This conspiracy is out in public domain. It puts a serious question mark on army and judiciary in the country. Miyan Sahib was punished for no fault of his, just because he was doing everything for democracy and its values,” the source said.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Justice Rana M Shamim, too, had accused Saqib Nisar of overstepping judicial bounds in the Nawaz Sharif case. In a sworn affidavit, Shamim declared that he had witnessed Nisar order a high court judge to not release Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz on bail before the 2018 elections. Sources close to Sharif had speculated the army’s role then too.
News18 had reported earlier this month that Sharif may have a window to return to Pakistan, and perhaps active politics, with a power tussle reportedly breaking out between Imran Khan and the army.
Sharif, convicted in two corruption cases — Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia Steel Mills — was declared a proclaimed offender in December 2019 by the Islamabad High Court after he failed to appear before it with regard to other cases against him. An accountability court in Pakistan in 2018 had sentenced Sharif to 10 years in prison for owning assets beyond his known sources of income and one year for not cooperating with the investigation into the Avenfield case.
In the same year, he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case, where illegal investments were detected. All sentences were to run concurrently. Nawaz Sharif has been living in London since November 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for medical treatment.
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