ISLAMABAD: The government claimed on Friday that the references filed against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family had been prepared on ‘weak grounds’ which could not be proved in an accountability court.

However, it rejected the impression that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was under any kind of ‘pressure’ from the government, which could compel it to go ‘soft’ on the Sharif family during the trial.

“NAB is an independent institution and is, therefore, not under any pressure from the government,” Federal Minister for Privatisation Daniyal Aziz said in a press conference on Friday, in which he explained the government’s point of view on the Panama Papers case and the four references filed by NAB in an accountability court on Friday.

He said the references had been prepared on the basis of what he termed a “flawed” report by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed to probe the Panama Papers case. “The JIT report was incomplete because of which NAB was compelled to enter into mutual legal assistance (MLA) agreements with Saudi Arabia and other countries to get credible information regarding offshore assets owned by the Sharif family,” he said.

Responding to a question, he said the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would fight the references in court and prove that Mr Sharif and his family had not committed any crime.

The minister claimed that the cases against the former prime minister, his three children and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had been framed on political grounds. “In fact an unconducive environment has been created against the Sharifs in the country, otherwise no case could be filed against them,” he said.

“We are well aware of how the environment has changed against political parties in our country,” he said, adding that it was for the first time in the country’s history that punishment had been awarded to the prime minister before the trial. “We know how all 18 prime ministers of the country had been thrown out,” the minister said.

He said NAB had summoned members of the JIT to record their statements but only Wajid Zia, who had headed the JIT, had appeared before it. “NAB would have not filed the references against the Sharifs if the JIT members had recorded their statements because their statements would have revealed that they had no concrete evidence to substantiate the corruption allegations against the former prime minister and his family,” he claimed.

Mr Aziz said that Mr Sharif had been removed from the office of prime minister, not on the basis of the JIT’s report, but on the issue of an Iqama (work permit) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “Interestingly the issue of the Iqama had not been mentioned in any of the three petitions filed against the Sharifs by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the Jamat-i-Islami (JI) or Sheikh Rashid,” he said.

He said earlier, volume 10 of the JIT report had been called a “bombshell” against the Sharifs, but in fact, there was nothing in it that could prove them guilty. “Today the administrative judge of an accountability court has termed the NAB references incomplete,” he added.

Answering a question regarding PTI chairman Imran Khan’s demand for Mr Dar to resign from office because a corruption reference had been filed against him, Mr Aziz said a flawed reference had been made against the finance minister and the case had already been quashed by a high court. “The man (Imran Khan) who has been declared a proclaimed offender by the court, has no right to ask for the resignation of Mr Dar who has already been given a clean chit by the court,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2017