Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday said that the acquittal of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain (r) Safdar Awan in the Avenfield reference “was a slap in face of so-called accountability system that was employed to target Sharif family”. “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 [the] Sharif family. My congratulations to Maryam Beti & Safdar,” he wrote on Twitter. The prime minister said that following the court verdict, “another chapter of political victimization reached to its end and innocent people stood vindicated”. He said both Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar faced the worst conditions with patience and steadfastness. Following the Islamabad High Court verdict, Maryam met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb. In a tweet, she said that Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Maryam Nawaz on her acquittal. While expressing her gratitude to Allah Almighty over the acquittal of Maryam Nawaz, she said: “Allah Almighty has done great grace, Allah has given great honour.”
