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RAWALPINDI: Adiala jail authorities have limited the movement of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif after some prisoners started chanting slogans against him as he was out for a stroll in the courtyard of his barrack early in the morning.
Sharif will now also not be allowed to pray in the mosque.
According to sources, the jail authorities are considering moving Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz to Safwat Lodge, commonly referred to as Sihala Rest House, located on the premises of Sihala Police College.
“A bomb disposal squad visited Sihala Police College Wednesday night to comb the premises to ensure there are no explosives in case the former premier and his daughter are moved to Sihala,” a senior security official said.
He said it may be unsafe for the three-time prime minister to remain in the jail due to the presence of high profile prisoners convicted in terrorism cases, even though security for him and his daughter has been beefed up.
A senior police official said security outside Adiala jail has also been tightened due to the large number of people coming to meet their loved ones in jail and the gathering of PML-N workers and leaders attempting to meet Sharif and Maryam.
Safwat Lodge has been cleaned and decorated with flowers, paintings and photographs. A double bed, two chairs and a table will also be provided to the prisoners.
This is the same lodge where former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had been detained when his party’s government was dismissed in 1996. Other political leaders have also been detained in the rest house in the past.
On July 13, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration had already declared the rest house a sub-jail for detaining the Sharifs who were arrested by the National Accountability Bureau when they reached Lahore. However, they were taken to Adiala jail instead.
After the notification was issued by the ICT administration and the commandant of Police College Sihala was contacted to seek charge of the rest house on Friday, the rest house was cleaned and prepared for the former prime minister.
Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2018
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Comments (101) Closed
Jul 19, 2018 08:08am
What is this joke, a corrupt person is been given a rest house as jail and flowers and painting are being provided???this is unfair to odinary citizens of Pakistan
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Jul 19, 2018 08:09am
Why Sihala rest house??? He should stay in jail.
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Jul 19, 2018 08:16am
"Some prisoners started chanting slogans against him as he was out for a stroll in the courtyard of his barrack early in the morning" Such dramas could easily Articulated by Nawaz legal team to create fear of unknown - So that their client could be moved to other comfortable location.
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Jul 19, 2018 08:17am
This is all planed to shift NS and his daughter out of this prison...
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Jul 19, 2018 08:23am
Keep fooling this nation by these reasons. This nation will now pay for these criminals guest house expenses. Shame on the administration of Pakistan.
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Jul 19, 2018 08:23am
a criminal is a criminal, why is this criminal getting the VIP treatment? the lodge? honestly this is an insult to the system and to those who are in jail for lesser crimes.
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Jul 19, 2018 08:26am
Really sad to see him go throw this whereas the real thieves are contesting elections so ironic
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Jul 19, 2018 08:27am
Not fair, a prisoner is a prisoner and should remain in the prison and not in decorated rest/guest houses regardless of their social or economic status!!!
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Jul 19, 2018 08:31am
So now they will be treated like political prisoners !
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Jul 19, 2018 08:37am
Next Raiwind palace will be declared as sub jail.
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Jul 19, 2018 08:49am
One thing is sure. Whether they are jailed or set free, those with deep pockets and political influence have privileges in our society a common man cannot even dream of.
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Jul 19, 2018 08:51am
Should not be reason for house arrest or bail
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Jul 19, 2018 08:59am
Why not take him to a five star hotel???
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Jul 19, 2018 09:02am
So if you are high profile and loot this country then you also get VIP jail... Amazing
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Jul 19, 2018 09:07am
Mockery of justice
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Jul 19, 2018 09:20am
A rest house????
Has Nawaz shareef been condemned to 10 years of vacation or prison time.
This is unbelievable.
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Jul 19, 2018 09:35am
Is the law applicable for all criminals? If inmates start chanting against another common criminal, will they shift him/her too?
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Jul 19, 2018 09:45am
Keep him in Adiala. Stop this VIP treatment
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Jul 19, 2018 09:52am
I ask superior court to take notice of this privileges given to both convicted prisoners. Is it not discrimination and sense of unrest to law abiding citizen that massive corrupt are treated as VIP.
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Jul 19, 2018 09:56am
This is beyond bad .. Naeem Bukhari was right .. where Sharifs go they will hear this
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Jul 19, 2018 10:03am
Why the special treatment?!! He is a convict and should remain in jail. Otherwise, just put him under house arrest at Raiwind. Save some money on all this drama.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:05am
Are Caretakers being bribed?
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Jul 19, 2018 10:17am
Why can't we move those prisoners chanting against nawaz and his daughter to different rest houses or Rai wind and let this duo of father and daughter remain in the jail. This way they will be very safe.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:19am
I am against any VIP treatment. Moving him to a lodge would be a mockery to the justice system.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:19am
Oh lord!
These too looted nearly $2 billion from the nation, yet they are being treated as special guests in a lodge, which might as well be a resort, holiday camp or Atlantis Hotel!
If they are supposed to serve their terms as prisoners, they should stay in regular prisons without priviledges and and special provisions, that others do not enjoy.
Don't make their prison sentence turn into a Five-Star Hotel stay.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:22am
What a joke, they should be put with common prisoners
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Jul 19, 2018 10:27am
MNS has been duly convicted and cannot be given any facilities. Zardari was under trial when he was lodged in the rest house.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:29am
Why in Rest House...He and his Daughter are proclaimed Convits....Should be in jail....The inmates are only saying what is true...This is no excuse to shift in Guest house....The right place for both of them is jail not Rest House...The whole nation is looking to see the complete justice is servered ...I.e thye both remains in jail not any Guest House...What message we will give to world community that the corrupt criminals are kept in Guest Houses with full luxury....
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Jul 19, 2018 10:31am
How insensitive as a nation we are! Without even reading the things properly we start commenting... if the law states what Mr Shariff is getting or will get, then one should not object. We need to be mature!
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Jul 19, 2018 10:39am
So all the mafias of this world will get these facilities in jails. Only happens in Pakistan!
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Jul 19, 2018 10:40am
This was all pre planned. Otherwise he would not have returned. Next he will be moved to his own palace in Raiwand that would be declared sub-jail
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Jul 19, 2018 10:50am
There is another way. Why can't declare Raiwind palace as a jail and move these duo back to there.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:04am
This was bound to happen. Political prisoners are trouble for jail authorities.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:06am
There is another solution - sent the prisoners , the ones who are chanting against Nawaz , to Sihala rest house , this solution will also keep the now convict for former PM safe
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Jul 19, 2018 11:16am
Jail administration should treat both father and daughter as convicted criminals.why are they trying to instill into layman that VIP is always a VIP. Please stop kidding with the nation.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:21am
Is there any external pressure?
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Jul 19, 2018 11:24am
Totally appalling. They should be subject to the same conditions as all other prisoners.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:25am
Reap what you sow
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Jul 19, 2018 11:31am
All the more necessary to vote for IK now. We need countrywide laws apply equally to all.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:39am
Nawaz should be with the ordinary prisoners.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:40am
Only in this Country, a criminal gets a VIP treatment. Hats off Democracy.................
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Jul 19, 2018 11:47am
Good move. Being an ex-PM who has been wrongly implicated in politically motivated cases, the least that can be done is to give him a reasonable place to stay.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:55am
If Nawaz has problem with others chanting against him. Then he should be put in Solitary confinement.
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Jul 19, 2018 11:58am
This is a joke. He is in prison. Let him suffer for his deeds. Chanting and slogans will do no harm to him.
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Jul 19, 2018 12:10pm
Who is authorising all this? cJ and interim PM must take immediate notice of this joke and put a stop to it immediately - NO REST HOUSE! Just jail
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Jul 19, 2018 12:21pm
why move them. Let them hear the music.
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Jul 19, 2018 12:26pm
Jail no jail .. rest house .. sub jail whatever,when is 8million being paid back by him and the 2million by maryam. Pay that back first before moving to a more luxurious jail if that what it still is!
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Jul 19, 2018 12:27pm
Three times prime minister or not. He is guilty of financial murder of thousands. As such he does not deserve leniency.
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Jul 19, 2018 12:30pm
He is safe inmate like all others. He should be equally treated as other inmates on the basis of equal rights. Or all others should be sent Sihala rest house for having equal rights.
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Jul 19, 2018 12:40pm
Another NRO in making?
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Jul 19, 2018 12:41pm
please prepare rest houses for all the inmates of adiala prison.
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Jul 19, 2018 12:46pm
@Farooq agreed. He should b treated as Criminal as per manual.
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Jul 19, 2018 12:49pm
Rest house? only in Pakistan
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Jul 19, 2018 12:52pm
All fake news and dirty tricks are part of preplanned agenda to create fear in the Adalah jail, using poor health and security issues as excuses - all is done to get better and comfortable treatment. Don't treat them like a VIP criminals, treat them just like ordinary prisoners - both convicted father and daughter are NOT from another planet!
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Jul 19, 2018 12:54pm
@Sid yes please do not make mockery of Judicial system....By putting these dou in Rest House to enjoy....Their place is in jail....Not the luxury of Rest House...By any Criteria they do not deserve to be shifted from Jail...If they are moved then we all will lose the Faith un the judiciary and current Government....
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Jul 19, 2018 01:02pm
@Imran Khan This is slap on the face of tax paying citizens of Pakistan.....What a crual Joke with Entire Nation....A place again id refurbished on the expense of tax payers money for these criminals...Please stop these jokes with the nation...Enough is Enough...
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Jul 19, 2018 01:10pm
Well staged drama. Just shift the "threatening" inmates to other prisons. The "movement" will die automatically.
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Jul 19, 2018 01:39pm
i say keep them in adyala till new govt is formed and let them decide what to do with this hi profile criminal and his daughter
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Jul 19, 2018 01:40pm
Guaranteed that half of the nation would be extremely happy to go to Sihala rest house jail, in similar conditions as being prepared for NS and MN.
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Jul 19, 2018 01:43pm
For all such conveniences if required to be favored to the high-profile convict, his personal palace in Jati Umra should be declared a sub-jail and he should be imprisoned there. That would also save a huge cost in providing him all those conveniences in Sihala Guest House.
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Jul 19, 2018 01:45pm
He should stay in jail.
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Jul 19, 2018 02:01pm
No rest house jail only plz dont make mockery of the country,1st time in history we getting these corrupt elites convicted and now u treat them as vips in the guise of security.he must face the music,didnt they stole frombthis poor nation?so why rest house with so much facilities
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Jul 19, 2018 02:26pm
what a joke
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Jul 19, 2018 02:41pm
Jail is Jail , where as the convicts are royal and above all they belong to the top most elite class and as such they are looking for a 5-Star accommodation in the jail !!
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Jul 19, 2018 02:45pm
Wow, what message are they giving to the common public: "if you want to become a thief, make sure to become a big one whilst being leader/part of a big political party so that you can live comfortably even if you get caught. It's like staying in a 4/5 star hotel for a few years rather than a few nights and your family can always come and visit too".
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Jul 19, 2018 02:57pm
That’s what he deserved because he had stolen money of these inmates as well.
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Jul 19, 2018 03:07pm
This is a brazen mockery of the justice system where persons of wealth and influence despite their high crimes are to be accorded VIP treatment even during the term of their incarceration.
The CJP has to take Suomoto notice of this major bungling against the nation
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Jul 19, 2018 03:38pm
What was the need for this, when eventually he would be released on bail very soon? It's just a matter of time. NS knows this. Everyone knows this. The law is only for us. Not for them.
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Jul 19, 2018 03:56pm
zindabad !
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Jul 19, 2018 03:56pm
Please show him the reality of punishment for his and his daughter's crimes. He must suffer the same as he has made Pakistan suffer with his thefts of money and resources.
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Jul 19, 2018 03:56pm
He is a prisoner and a convicted person. Deserves to serve sentence as a prisoner, so why being moved to the Sihala Guest House. Law should prevail uniformly for everyone.
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Jul 19, 2018 04:00pm
I think we are trying to give them the same comfort they had in Avenfield apartments in London. They should live like other criminals in prison as they are criminals. Take all these facilities away from these criminals, please.
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Jul 19, 2018 04:01pm
Some institutions are leaping out their scope as he failed to correct them during his tenure, now face it.
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Jul 19, 2018 04:12pm
interesting comments ... wonder what examples are we setting in this country. privileges for the elites, no matter who they are and whatever they have done ..the only privilege we have as the citizen for keeping the country going is...When we arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to only breathe, no time to think, no time to enjoy. To live under the Pakistan Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to our elite...
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Jul 19, 2018 05:01pm
@Syed No thankyou
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Jul 19, 2018 05:09pm
Only Drama to give them more VIP protocol and hospitality.
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Jul 19, 2018 06:15pm
Top drama for a sympathy vote. If PTI win they will in jail for some time and if PML win they will be out of Adiala!
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Jul 19, 2018 06:42pm
Some prisoners started chanting slogans against him as he was out for a stroll in the courtyard of his barrack. Nawaz Sharif has looted billions of Dollars from Pakistan and transfered them abroad illegally at the cost of his self respect. Therefore let him enjoy the jail inmates taunts. Why move him and his daughter to Sihala Rest House.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:04pm
Where is the justice in this. Will all the other common thieves be offered the same? If not, this is injustice. Their atonement is turning into vacation to some extent.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:08pm
Don't forget the internet and cable.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:13pm
Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Marrium Safdar are classic dramatics. Since there is no provision in the law to declare a home or rest house as sub-jail for a convicted person, the scene was created to make special provisions to move them to a much comfortable place. They should be moved to Attock Fort instead which is more secure and his known place.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:14pm
It would be decent to move Nawaz Sharif to a better place.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:19pm
Good decision. He is innocent anyways
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Jul 19, 2018 07:37pm
At least prisoners have some integrity and ethic to do the right thing.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:38pm
Staying in luxury rest house is not jail time but a holiday!!!
Please stop fooling Pakistani public that justice can reach the elites as it's never does.
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Jul 19, 2018 08:43pm
N and M are awarded rigorous imprisonment but are they undergoing any hard labor which is defined in RI whereby the prisoner is to carry out menial works like working in field or sweeping floors or cutting hair or do mending shoes or stitching or teach other inmates etc on daily basis. Which of these obligations are performed by both I dare ask? Shahbaz and his legal team also complained of maltreatment in jail. First both of them sweep floors and then complain the bad quality of the brooms for cleaning. What security we have when their lives cannot be protected and are being shifted out? Who is going to attack them in jail? How any prisoner can attack other prisoner when there is enough police inside? Increase security but keep them in jail and not out of jail. NS proudly said in London that I am returning to be in jail and therefore, I very earnestly request Minister Interior to please honor NS words and keep him in Adyala unless you want NS to protest if shifted. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi
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Jul 19, 2018 10:00pm
When people commit crimes, they are convicted by courts and their liberty is restricted. They don't have their freedom, they are condemned.
Nawaz is jailed. He does not have freedom for 10 years. If other prisoners raise slogans, it is not a big thing. He needs to learn to live with such things. It does not justify moving him to a resthouse. He is a prisoner; he needs to learn to act as a prisoner.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:18pm
What a sentence. Free lodging and boarding at luxury rest house. Who will not like this punishment/sentence.
People will do crime just to get this facility.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:25pm
Cant we keep him in my house if its that necessary and I can enjoy the 5 star facilities of Safwat house.
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Jul 19, 2018 10:44pm
These are two faces of jailing.....depends upon class one belongs to... bad n very bad
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Jul 20, 2018 06:30am
@khanm
Very unfortunate on our part. Had we been a nation such kind of people wouldn't have found any place in Pakistan.
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Jul 20, 2018 07:29am
Why on earth do politicians get these lovely rest houses to be imprisoned in? Flowers? Really...? They should be flogged in prison. They have been convicted of a "Crime" not a misdemeanour, not a tiny pickpocketing incident. This is where our countries hierarchy fail time and time again...so disappointing.
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Jul 20, 2018 08:39am
Along with pictures and the flowers, they may want to print and frame the total amount owed to the people of Pakistan and hung where it could be seen from any where in the room. That would add some color to the room as well.
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Jul 20, 2018 02:39pm
why bother so much??? if he has to be detained in a rest house with all facilities, then why don't they detained him in his palace ?
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Jul 20, 2018 04:19pm
This family has plenty of money to share with Adiala Jail staff, who seems to got suddenly concerned about his security and now arranging to shift him to a nice vacation in Sihala rest house.
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Jul 20, 2018 04:30pm
How long it will take further that we as nation will start considering our politicians with positivity? Mian Nawaz Sharif endured the hardship of attending more than 100 court proceedings yet people hardly recognise them as politicians.
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Jul 20, 2018 05:08pm
Good way of turning jail term into a vacation, wow.
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Jul 20, 2018 06:20pm
This is a farce. This is exactly why our country is not progressing, double standards. Sihala is no jail by any standards. Nawaz has destroyed this country and this is how we will award him punishment, this is his punishment. Absolutely unacceptable.
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Jul 20, 2018 08:04pm
Put him back in jail. Those inmates must be paid by NS and company to create an artificial situation.
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Jul 21, 2018 12:00am
A rest house?!!!
So he will not be in a jail?
Disappointing.
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Jul 21, 2018 11:44am
How dare we put ex PM in an ordinary jail? Let's get a big foreign loan to build a befitting jail for him.
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