Will Maryam Nawaz show courage to challenge Imran Khan in electoral politics?

PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain Retd Safdar were acquitted in the Avenfield corruption reference four years after their conviction, giving a chance to her to challenge Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan in the by-polls to prove her supremacy in national politics.

Yesterday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) overturned the July 2018 verdict, acquitting Maryam Nawaz and Captain Retd Safdar in the Avenfield corruption reference.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, presided over the hearing during which the court heard arguments from both sides.

Justice Kayani remarked that the opinion of the investigating officer could not be considered as evidence. “The joint investigation team did not present any fact, it just collected information,” he observed.

In a brief order, the IHC stated, “For the reasons to be recorded later, the instant appeal is allowed and the judgement dated July 6, 2018, is set aside.”

It added that Maryam and Captain Safdar’s convictions have been set aside and they have been acquitted of the charges in the reference.

Maryam’s acquittal made her eligible for contesting elections, however, she did not give a satisfactory reply to the journalists regarding her future plans.

When questioned, she replied that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will decide when and where I will contest.

Analysts said that it is the right time for Maryam Nawaz to prove her and her political party’s supremacy in electoral politics after her acquittal in the corruption reference. They expressed surprise that she did not announce immediately to challenge the rival party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in electoral politics by taking part in the forthcoming by-polls.

Case background

On July 6, a few weeks before the elections in 2018, the accountability judge of Islamabad, who was working under the supervision of an apex court judge, convicted the Sharif family in the Avenfield apartment reference.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was handed 10 years as jail time for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Meanwhile, Maryam was given 7 years for abetment after she was found “instrumental in concealment of the properties of her father” and one year for non-cooperation with the bureau, according to Dawn News.

Safdar was given one year jail time — for not cooperating with NAB, and aiding and abetting Nawaz and Maryam.

The Sharif family had filed appeals against its conviction before the IHC in the second week of August 2018. The court had on Sep 18 the same year suspended their sentences and released them on bail.

In October last year, Maryam filed a new application, along with “extremely relevant, simple and clear-cut facts”, with the IHC seeking annulment of that verdict.