'Nawaz Sharif is winning'

SIALKOT: Daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz on Friday said that Supreme Court’s ruling rendering Nawaz Sharif ineligible to ever hold public office will only strengthen his narrative demanding respect for people’s vote, ARY News reported.

Addressing a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers rally in Sialkot, Maryam Nawaz  maintained that this “disqualification is not for life” but only till the current bunch of judges are in office.

“A leader loved by his people and voters cannot be disqualified, you know, why they are giving this decision (of disqualification) time and again, they know they cannot beat him (Nawaz) through ballot, they know Nawaz Sharif is winning, in fact, he has won,” said Maryam Nawaz.

She reiterated that her father was declared ineligible to hold public office for holding an “iqama” (work/resident permit) for the detractors could not find a single evidence of corruption against him or his family.

Maryam Nawaz urged people to once again vote for the candidate “who has Nawaz’s backing” and make an example of all his opponents, adding that the detractors have tried everything in past two years to beat PML-N but have failed to stop people from voting for the party.

She claimed that her party workers were picked a day before NA-120 by-polls and voters were harassed but the opponents still couldn’t beat PML-N.

Earlier in the day, a five-member bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Jahangir Tareen for life, in a historic verdict.

Sharif, 67, resigned in July last year after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding office over an undeclared source of income, but the veteran leader maintains his grip on the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. Today’s ruling addressed an ambiguity over Sharif’s disqualification about whether he was barred from office for life or a specific period.