News Analysis |
She addressed a post-midnight rally in Mandi Bahauddin, where she slammed the Khan-led government and demanded immediate exit. PML-N leaders Captain (R) Mohammad Safdar, Talal Chaudhry, Musaddiq Malik, Pervaiz Rashid, Uzma Bukhari and Saifullah Khokhar accompanied her. She asserted, “Give your resignation! Go home!” and urged the crowd to chant along with her.
She also highlighted that the leaked video of the accountability judge, Arshad Malik, has proven the innocence of Nawaz Sharif. Therefore, keeping him in jail is illegal. She was alluding to a video which has been rejected by the judge himself, calling it fabricated, fake and fallacious. Moreover, the judge remarked that it was a campaign to malign his integrity and his family. “Serious allegations were made against me; it was a conspiracy to affect my credibility as well as that of my institution and my family. Therefore, I want to present the facts,” he said.
The judge also highlighted that Sharif’s family offered him bribe during the case which he denied and stayed firm on his principles. “After Maryam Sahiba’s press conference, it was necessary that the truth be brought forward […] during the hearing of the cases against Nawaz Sharif and his family. I was repeatedly offered bribes by their representatives and also given threats of serious consequences if I did not cooperate,” alleged the judge in the press release.
Maryam Nawaz repeatedly claimed during her speech that it’s time for Nawaz Sharif to be released without any delay.
G-M Pitafi, a Lahore based academic and political commentator, spoke to GVS and commented on the development. He believes that Maryam lacked substantial evidence to get relief for his imprisoned father. An effort has been made to get a controversial which has helped her raise some serious questions about the criminal justice system of Pakistan. “She has achieved her first objective and that was to create a new political controversy. She has done it,” Professor Pitafi commented.
Moreover, he opines that the next step will be tough for Maryam and her advisers. “She is unlikely to achieve anything from the courts. The plan was to create a socio-political setting which will pressurize the apex court to intervene and provide the Sharif family with some relief which has been denied on health grounds,” he said.
Maryam Nawaz repeatedly claimed during her speech that it’s time for Nawaz Sharif to be released without any delay. If they failed to do so, the consequences may be dire for those who have captivated her father.
Read more: Leaked Video of Judge Arshad Malik: How will it Impact the Ongoing Cases against the Sharifs?
Political commentators believe that the situation will become better in the days to come, if Maryam and her legal counsel decides to present the video as evidence before the court. If the video is not presented before the court and used solely for political purposes, there may be some more legal complications for Maryam, since it will amount to defamation of the court.