ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has overturned the conviction of Maryam Nawaz, vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and her husband retired Capt. Safdar Awan in the Avenfield House reference.
In July 2018, an accountability court ruled that deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family laundered money in the 1990s to pay for four luxury apartments in Park Lane, central London, drawing on allegations that resurfaced in the 2016 Panama Papers.
Accountability Court judge Mohammad Bashir sentenced Nawaz to seven years’ imprisonment, fined the family £10 million and ordered the seizure of the Avenfield properties. She also received an additional one-year sentence for presenting forged documents in court.
Simultaneously, Nawaz’s husband, Awan, was sentenced to a year’s rigorous imprisonment for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities.
In October last year, she along with her father and husband approached the high court to annul the verdict.
The family has long struggled to explain how the Avenfield flats came into their possession. Family members initially told different stories. During the NAB trial, Sharif’s defence claimed that a Qatari investment fund gave the expensive properties to the family to repay a debt owed to Sharif’s father, Mian Muhammad Sharif.
Commentators in 2017 mocked a letter from a Qatari prince apparently testifying to that deal as a rabbit pulled out of a hat.
Sharif and members of his family have denied any wrongdoing, and supporters claim the charges against them are politically motivated.
On Thursday, responding to the judgement, the prime minister said the “edifice of lies, slander and character assassination” had come crumbling down.
“Maryam’s acquittal in the Avenfield reference is a slap in the face of the so-called accountability system that was employed to target the Sharif family. My congratulations to Maryam beti (daughter) and Safdar,” he tweeted.
The edifice of lies, slander & character assassination has come crumbling down today. Maryam Nawaz’s acquittal in the Avenfield Reference is a slap in the face of so-called accountability system that was employed to target Sharif family. My congratulations to Maryam Beti & Safdar
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) September 29, 2022
While a short order is awaited, based on the verdict, Nawaz is now eligible to contest elections.
“A person who has been convicted of a crime involving corruption or moral turpitude is disqualified from contesting elections unless a period of five years has lapsed since their release,” according to Mirza Moiz Baig, a lawyer.
“While the Supreme Court has, in the case of Samiullah Baloch, held that a disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) continues for life, a disqualification under Article 63(1)(g) isn’t incurable,” he explained.
“Maryam Nawaz, unlike her father, was never declared to fall short of the requirements enshrined under Article 62(1)(f). On the contrary, the only bar to her contesting elections was her conviction in the Avenfield reference. With the conviction being overturned by the Islamabad High Court, Maryam Nawaz’s candidature for an election to the Parliament will no longer trigger Article 63(1)(g).”
Addressing a press conference after her acquittal, Maryam said the verdict had “vindicated” her father. “This is how lies come to end,” she said, thanking her legal team for the years spent fighting her case.
The PML-N vice president said Sharif had been advised to boycott court proceedings, but he and his children had all faced trial.
Referring to former prime minister Imran Khan’s repeated descriptions of her as a “convict,” Nawaz questioned what his narrative would be now that he had been proven a “liar” and “conspirator,” while Sharif was being cleared.
Describing Khan as “helpless,” she said that even if he did not justify his actions, history would ensure that he would be held answerable.
Responding to a question on why she was targeting Khan when the case against her had been registered before the PTI came into power, Maryam said the answer say in who had benefited. “Had Sharif remained here, then even in three lifetimes, Khan could not have come into power,” she said.
To another question on an alleged audio recording of a conversation between the former prime minister and his principal secretary, Azam Khan, the PML-N leader it had not surprised her. “This person, who spread destruction, divide, and anarchy in Pakistan, remained in power for four years. He does not even know how serious it is to play with national security,” she said, accusing Khan of concocting a “conspiracy” when he could see that his government would be ousted through a vote of no-confidence.
“He played with the country’s fate. He thinks of the country as a game and tampers with its future, just like he did at Lahore’s stadium,” she said, while once again challenging Khan to name the individuals he kept alleging were involved in the so-called conspiracy.
