ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan registered a case against three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and another former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, on the charges of “maligning” the country’s army and state institutions in recent speeches and public appearances.
The case comes days after Sharif, who heads the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party, delivered several speeches accusing the country’s military of political interference, which the army denies. His daughter and Abbasi have also made public speeches on the same issue.
Sharif’s third term as prime minister ran from 2013 to 2017, when he was removed by the Supreme Court amid revelations over his personal wealth. Last year he was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence for corruption and flown to London for medical treatment. He has not returned and Prime Minister Imran Khan has said his government will bring him back from London through a court order.
Last week, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) also banned the broadcast of speeches, interviews and public addresses by “absconders and proclaimed offenders,” in a veiled reference to Sharif.
In the police case filed against Sharif, the petitioner, a private citizen, said Sharif was engaged in a “planned conspiracy” to defame Pakistan and its institutions, the army and judiciary, though “inflammatory speeches.” It said Sharif wanted to isolate Pakistan in the world community and have it declared a “rogue state.”
Speaking to the press on Monday, PMLN leader Mohammad Zubair, who is a spokesman for the Sharifs, condemned the government’s efforts to brand the party leaders as “traitors” and called for an end to the practice of labeling political opponents “enemies of the state.”
Last month, a conference of major opposition parties announced the formation of a joint platform, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), to launch countrywide protest demonstrations to bring down the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. PDM is schedule to hold its first public rally on October 18 in Quetta in the southern Balochistan province.
