“I was asked to resign after initiating inquiry against Musharraf”: Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: While recording his statement before the accountability court for a third consecutive day on Wednesday in Avenfield case, former premier Nawaz Shairf stated that after opening sedition proceedings against Musharraf, he was asked by an intelligence officer to resign from the office of Prime Minister or go for an extended leave.

“The purpose of the message was to question how dare I initiate an inquiry against Musharraf,” Nawaz said. PML-N supremo also claimed that he was asked to make the parliament endorse the second martial law by Musharraf. “The message was conveyed to me by Asif Ali Zardari. However, I refused to do it. This is the gist of my actual crime”, he added.

Nawaz steered his statements towards political blame game and targeted his political opponents while recording answers of the last five of the 128 questions asked by the accountability court.

“Dictatorships miserably harmed Pakistan and dictators must be penalized for their wrongdoings”, he said complaining that all the weapons are made for politicians.

Deposed premier refused to present witness in his defense and criticized: “prosecution has failed in proving me guilty then why should I bring my witnesses in defense?”

In his consistent diatribe against judiciary, he said “I was ousted merely on the basis of Iqama (work permit), yet I bowed before the Supreme Court’s verdict of disqualification from government office”.

The former prime minister completed his answers to 128-question-long questionnaire, prepared by the court in Avenfield reference, within three days.

In the beginning of the case hearing, Judge Mohammad Bashir, rejected the miscellaneous plea of the defence seeking to record answers of remaining five questions after completion of the cross-examination of witnesses in other two cases.

The Avenfield reference, pertaining to the Sharif family’s London properties, is among three references filed against Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year on the instruction of the Supreme Court.

Mr Sharif later addressed a press conference at Punjab House, Islamabad and read out the scripted answers he furnished during the court hearing. The ex-premier refrained from answering queries of mediamen after the presser.