SAHIWAL: As if the wound inflicted on the Sharifs by the Supreme Court through its judgement in the Panama Papers case still fresh in her heart, Maryam Nawaz declared in no uncertain terms on Monday that elections in the country could be held only after the titles of “Sicilian Mafia” and “Godfather” pinned on Nawaz Sharif are withdrawn.

She said Nawaz Sharif was humiliated by the judiciary which gave him the titles of “Sicilian Mafia” and “Godfather”. “First these titles would be withdrawn, then there will be an election,” she roared while addressing a workers’ convention’ organised by the PML-N here at the Hockey Stadium.

Ms Nawaz announced that there would be no election without justice and until fake and fabricated cases were withdrawn and Nawaz Sharif was declared innocent in the Panama Papers case. She demanded that the same standards of justice should be applied to PML-N that were allegedly applied by the “previous nexus of establishment and judiciary” in 2017 to facilitate Imran Khan.

In her hard-hitting speech, she lashed out at the alleged partial role of judiciary and claimed that the “remnants of [former ISI chief] General Faiz Hameed” were still operative through the judiciary and extending concessions to the PTI chief.

She made it clear that PML-N was not running away from the general election, but said that before the polls all the relevant quarters must answer questions regarding the unfair judgements passed against Nawaz Sharif by the old establishment and judiciary. Calling him ‘Fitna Khan’, she claimed that Imran Khan had earlier reached the corridor of power riding the shoulders of establishment and judiciary, and now he was again seeking the judiciary’s help to gain power. However, she added, “this dream of yours [Imran’s] will not come true”.

“That shoulder will be cut down,” she addressed the charged crowd.

She said that the “troika” of Gen Faiz Hamid, Baba Rehmatay (a euphemism for former chief justice Saqib Nisar) and ex-chief justice Khosa is still granting concessions to ladla Imran Khan. Ms Nawaz said that her father’s innocence in the Panama case had been proved by statements of former Justice Shaukat Siddiqui and Justice Arshad Malik, but judiciary was still not providing justice to the PML-N supremo.

She demanded that all court verdicts against Nawaz Sharif must be nullified, adding that only then there would be an election.

The PML-N leader said Imran Khan must be brought to justice in the Toshakhana and Rs55 billion ‘foreign’ funding cases.

In an apparent reference to Tyrian White case being heard by a court of law, she told the audience that Nawaz Sharif’s daughter was standing in front of them but “where is the legal daughter of Imran Khan”.

Continuing her tirade against the PTI leader, Maryam Nawaz said Imran Khan had hidden himself in Zaman Park on the pretext of a “leg plaster”, but he was asking his party workers to volunteer for arrest during the PTI’s Jail Bharo Tehreek.

Ms Nawaz said the audiotapes leak purportedly of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Dr Yasmin Rashid clearly indicated the phenomena of “bench fixing” to benefit Imran Khan. Why did not the chief justice of Pakistan take suo motu notice of these leaks, she asked.

She noted that while Imran Khan was objecting to the leaks he was not objecting to the content of the tapes.

Party’s district president Malik Nadeem Kamran said Maryam Nawaz would stay at the divisional headquarters and hold meetings with parliamentarians, social media teams and leaders of women, youth, labour and traders’ wings.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2023