Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has renewed calls for accountability of three retired Supreme Court judges he claims orchestrated his ouster ahead of the 2018 elections. Addressing a party general council meeting, Sharif pointed fingers at former chief justice Saqib Nisar, Ijazul Ahsan, and Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, alleging their involvement in removing him from office.
Sharif, who is set to be re-elected as PML-N president on May 28, criticized the judiciary for his disqualification, questioning the authority under which judges could remove a sitting prime minister. He specifically referenced a court order that barred him from remaining the PML-N president due to his disqualification under Articles 62 and 63.
“How can three people disqualify a prime minister for not taking a salary from his son?” Sharif questioned, demanding an independent investigation into his 2017 ouster. He also claimed to possess an audio clip of former CJP Nisar allegedly stating, “we have to oust Nawaz to bring in Imran Khan as the premier.”
Additionally, Sharif called for initiating a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case against Justice Naqvi for alleged illegal assets. He urged that similar actions be taken against other judges involved in his removal.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the nation’s response to his ouster, Sharif lamented, “I want to lodge a complaint with the nation as to why it stood silent when I was illegally removed from the office of the prime minister.”
Sharif also recounted how former ISI chief Zaheerul Islam conspired with cleric Dr. Tahirul Qadri in 2014 to organize a sit-in against his government. He mentioned that Imran Khan initially agreed to support him but later joined the conspirators against the PML-N government.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was appointed as acting president of PML-N until Nawaz Sharif officially resumes his role on May 28. Shehbaz Sharif praised his elder brother for keeping the party alive and criticized the judicial conspiracy that led to Pakistan’s economic troubles.
The elder Sharif’s renewed activism comes after a period of relative quiet following PML-N’s underperformance in the February 8 general elections. He has recently been active in chairing Punjab government meetings and directing bureaucrats and ministers.