Screengrab of Maryam Nawaz’s press conference
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday acquitted Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Vice President Maryam Nawaz and her husband, Captain (retd.) Safdar, in the Avenfield reference, reversing the 2018 conviction of an accountability court.
Shortly before the 2018 general elections, an accountability court in Islamabad had convicted Maryam for being “instrumental in concealment of the properties of her father,” imposing a fine of £2 million and sentencing her to seven years’ imprisonment. It had also sentenced her to a concurrent one year’s imprisonment over non-cooperation with the National Accountability Bureau. Her husband, Capt. (retd.) Muhammad Safdar, was similarly sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on the same charges.
Maryam was subsequently arrested in August 2019, before being released on bail in November 2019.
Addressing a press conference after her acquittal, Maryam said the verdict had “vindicated” her father, Nawaz Sharif. “This is how lies come to end,” she said, thanking her legal team for the years spent fighting her case. Shortly after she began speaking with journalists, she received a phone call from her uncle, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who congratulated her on the ruling.
“The edifice of lies, slander and character assassination has come crumbling down today,” he wrote in a posting on Twitter. “Maryam Nawaz’s acquittal in the Avenfield Reference is a slap in the face of so-called accountability system that was employed to target Sharif family. My congratulations to Maryam Beti and Safdar,” he added.
In her press engagement, the PMLN vice president said that Nawaz had been advised to boycott court proceedings, but he and his children had all faced trial. Referring to PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s repeated descriptions of her as a “convict,” Maryam questioned what his narrative would be now that he had been proven a “liar” and “conspirator,” while Nawaz was being cleared. Describing Khan as “helpless,” she said that even if he did not justify his actions, history would ensure that he would be held answerable.
Responding to a question on why she was targeting Khan when the case against her had been registered before the PTI came into power, Maryam said the answer say in who had benefited. “Had Nawaz remained here, then even in three lifetimes, Imran could not have come into power,” she said.
To another question on an alleged audio recording of a conversation between the former prime minister and his principal secretary, Azam Khan, the PMLN leader it had not surprised her. “This person, who spread destruction, divide, and anarchy in Pakistan, remained in power for four years. He does not even know how serious it is to play with national security,” she said, accusing Khan of concocting a “conspiracy” when he could see that his government would be ousted through a vote of no-confidence.
“He played with the country’s fate. He thinks of the country as a game and tampers with its future, just like he did at Lahore’s stadium,” she said, while once again challenging Khan to name the individuals he kept alleging were involved in the so-called conspiracy.
Maryam also criticized former finance minister Shaukat Tarin for calling the finance ministers of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to get them to renege on a commitment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to return a surplus to the center. “Do you know what would have happened had Pakistan not gotten the money from IMF? What can we say about the mindset of such a person?” she said, adding that it was necessary to take action against him for all his criminal actions.
While the court has yet to issue a short order, it is likely that Maryam’s acquittal now allows her to contest elections. When asked, Maryam refused to give a direct answer on whether she would participate in the next general elections. “Party head Nawaz and P.M. Shehbaz will decide when and where I will contest,” she said.
Proceedings
During today’s hearing, a two-member bench led by Justice Aamer Farooq said that the prosecution had failed to prove the allegations against Maryam or her husband. He told NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi that the Joint Investigation Team he was relying on for “evidence” had not provided any facts and questioned how it proved the allegations against the petitioners.
“Prove the link of Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif with the case of assets beyond means,” he said. “We cannot announce a verdict on the basis of public knowledge of some hearsay,” he said, as he reserved the verdict on the acquittal plea.