The long-awaited comeback of 73-year-old thrice-elected former Prime Minister, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif a veteran and convicted politician, after four years of self-exile, finally materialized on October 21, 2023. With his resounding speech at a huge public gathering, arranged by his party at Minar-e-Pakistan, Lahore, the third-time homecoming revitalized and instilled fresh hope in followers of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)—PMLN. Nawaz Sharif’s political career is characterized by confrontations with those who matter in the land resulting in the ousting of his government prematurely through undemocratic means.
Mian Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and a fine of $25 million on December 24, 2018, in connection with the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case. Following his personal doctor’s testimony about his “critical and unstable health condition”, the Islamabad High Court granted him an eight-week bail, and subsequently, the Lahore High Court lifted his travel restrictions, allowing him to leave the country in November 2019 for medical treatment.
Nawaz Sharif was named in Panama Papers Leaks, revealed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) exposing a concealed wealth of global politicians and celebrities in offshore tax havens, leading to calls for stricter anti-money laundering measures. These papers divulged a vast trove of 11.5 million documents, disclosing information about over 214,488 offshore entities. Within Pakistan, more than 470 individuals, including the ruling Sharif family, were implicated, reigniting allegations of corruption. Opposition parties called for investigations into the financial affairs of the incumbent prime minister and his family. In particular, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) organized nationwide protests, with its leader Imran Khan celebrating the leaks as a “blessing in disguise”.
Amidst nationwide protests, Nawaz Sharif made efforts to address these allegations by delivering a televised national address and presenting evidence in Parliament. He also announced an independent judicial commission that could not materialize because of the refusal by the retired judges of the Supreme Court to be part of it. He also committed to writing a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan for the constitution of the judicial commission. The Supreme Court, however, entertained a petition under Article 184(3) of the Construction of Islamic Republic of Pakistan [“the Constitution”] filed by Imran Khan as head of PTI, against Nawaz Sharif which was initially not entertained for lack of jurisdiction but accepted in November 2016 that demanded disqualification of the sitting prime minister for allegedly acquiring properties in London and expanding businesses with unexplained funds. After the retirement of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, the newly-appointed Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar, formed a five-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa to decide the petition.
The five-member bench was tasked with addressing the following questions posed by several petitioners, including Amir Jamaat-e-Islami, and Sirajul Haq, among others:
What is the scope of the proceedings before this Court under Article 184(3)of the Constitution and whether disputed or intricate questions of fact can be decided in such proceedings with or without recording of evidence?
Whether the above-mentioned four properties in London in particular, statedly acquired in the name of Hussain Nawaz Sharif, a son of respondent No. 1, had been acquired by respondent No. 1 and his family through funds legitimately generated and transferred and whether the acquisition of those assets has duly and properly been explained and accounted for by respondent No. 1 or his children?
Whether respondent No. 1 and his children have any decent explanation available for acquiring properties and setting up various businesses in general in different parts of the world?
Whether respondent No. 1 is not “honest” or “Ameen” as required by Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution as he has failed to duly account for his and his immediate family’s wealth and assets and his various explanations advanced before the nation, the National Assembly and this Court in that regard have been evasive, contradictory, unproved and untrue rendering him disqualified from being elected to or from being a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)?
Whether Mariam Safdar, daughter of respondent No. 1, was respondent No. 1’s ‘dependent’ in the year 2013 and in his nomination, papers filed for election to the National Assembly in the general elections held in that year respondent No. 1 had failed to disclose such dependency and had, thus, been guilty of suppression of a material fact for which the necessary legal consequences ought to follow?
Whether respondent No. 1 had been evading taxes and he had thereby rendered himself disqualified from being elected to or from being a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)?
Whether some allegations of indulging in corruption, corrupt practices money laundering, etc. leveled against respondent No. 1, respondent No. 10, and some others in the past had unduly been scuttled through some judicial recourses and what would be the remedies available for reopening those allegations and for their prosecution?
Following an extended legal process, the Supreme Court initially delivered a verdict in April 2017. A two-member bench ruled against the parliamentary exemption provided under Article 66 of the Constitution for the Member of Parliament, thus disqualifying him from holding public office due to perceived dishonesty in his statements made in the National Assembly.
However, a subsequent three-member bench recommended the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe and establish the veracity of Nawaz Sharif’s connections to the contested properties and businesses. The JIT was granted a 60-day period to conclude its investigation. There were objections raised by Nawaz Sharif’s legal team regarding the JIT’s composition, as they alleged that members of the team held biases against the Sharif family. Dismissing these objections, the Judges proceeded with the same composition.
Throughout this entire period, the JIT struggled to establish any concrete connection or evidence regarding Nawaz Sharif’s ownership of the contested properties. However, they did uncover information about receivable salaries from Capital FZE, a company previously owned by his younger son, Hassan Nawaz Sharif, which had already been dissolved. Interestingly, this revelation was not within the JIT’s scope or the original mandate of the Supreme Court, nor was it requested by the petitioner.
However, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, instead of following standard legal procedures to address these findings, disqualified Nawaz Sharif from his position as a member of the National Assembly. The Court instructed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issue a notification of his disqualification. Additionally, the Supreme Court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reference against him and to adjudicate on those references within six months. To oversee this entire process, the five-member bench requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to appoint a monitoring judge from the Supreme Court.
Notably, an intriguing element of the accountability court’s judgment was found in paragraph four. This section detailed the Sharif family’s business endeavors, and while charging Nawaz Sharif, the judge emphasized his family’s business background and listed the companies owned by his family. However, during the sentencing, the court disregarded their claims of inheritance and considered only Nawaz Sharif’s share, punishing him for allegedly owning assets beyond means and acquiring them through corrupt practices.
Subsequently, Nawaz Sharif got bail from Islamabad High Court against the 10-year’ sentence, while the case pertaining to seven years punishment of steel mills in Saudi Arabia was also weak the judge later admitted in a leaked video that he passed the order under immense pressure. It is highly likely that under the changed circumstances, Nawaz Sharif will get bail in this case as well—he secured a protective bail from Islamabad High Court before landing in Pakistan as a convict even without first surrendering to police which is the well-established rule.
As claimed, Nawaz Sharif, a convict and fugitive, has returned “with the mission to put the country back on track of economic prosperity and political stability” but he has yet to overcome legal challenges—restoration of appeals and acquittal in two cases, Avenfield and Al-Aziza, pending in Islamabad High Court. Simultaneously, he has to deal with a few other references filed by NAB. Many allege that legal success is already guaranteed, which would facilitate him to run for elections and lead his party’s campaign.
At a time of intense political polarization in the country, analysts are of the view that Nawaz Sharif has the responsibility to go for political rapprochement to establish a working relationship with his political opponents as well as the security institution with which he always faced issues in the past. Although he has publically announced that he did not believe in revenge, and wanted to work with everyone for the country’s prosperity, he did not announce the way forward. He did not disclose how he wants to deal with his staunch political rival and adversary Imran Khan who is presently incarcerated on multiple counts such as alleged corruption, violating the Official Secrets Act, and inciting violence against the state.
Nawaz Sharif is fully cognizant of the fact that Pakistan’s governance system is in utter disarray, and the hope of the common people is dwindling, with a widening trust deficit between the state and its citizens. Skyrocketed inflation has made their lives miserable. On the other hand, the state is not taking any serious steps to forge fiscal discipline and is still at the mercy of global lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other bilateral and multilateral partners. In this situation, it would be a tough challenge for him to provide relief to the masses as they are expecting quick relief.
He has leanings towards a liberal economic approach where the state assumes a regulatory role and leaves business and commerce to market forces. However, even his party’s major leaders are against privatization, though he consistently championed total disinvestment of government-owned enterprises. If he wins the general elections and comes into power for the fourth time, it will be a daunting challenge to implement the agenda of privatization to get rid of the monstrous financial burden on the national treasury.
Pakistan is currently isolated as even our close allies are not ready to trust us anymore. During his previous tenure, one emotional step put off the most trusted friends, Saudi Arabia and Middle Eastern countries, and since then we have not been able to restore traditional warm and friendly relations with them. Pakistan’s foreign policy was not ideal in his earlier tenures, as our entire focus was on China and Turkey. It would thus be quite difficult to revive the trust of historically friendly Middle Eastern countries, as well as the United States whose president refused to call our prime ministers.
Undoubtedly, our diplomatic ties with the world, not to mention friendly countries, have soured significantly. Inconsistent positions on global matters and misaligned priorities have left the international community uncertain about our intentions. Though Nawaz Sharif explicitly outlined his vision for enhancing relations with both global and regional partners, only time will tell how he would manage if he secures victory in the forth-coming elections, for which a definitive date is yet to be announced in utter disregard of the country’s supreme law. The matter, fixed for hearing this week under the new procedure of constituting benches of the apex court, will now be considered once again by the Supreme Court.
It is in his credit that during his previous term (2013-2018), Nawaz Sharif successfully secured one of the largest foreign investment packages for Pakistan, known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which was hailed as a transformative initiative with the potential to rejuvenate Pakistan’s economy and usher in a new era of development. Unfortunately, shortly after his departure and due to a perceived collusion between the establishment and judiciary, this pivotal project was delayed. However, during his tenure, there were steps that were costing us heavily and one of those was capacity charges for running power plants. Additionally, many short-term Chinese loans, reportedly close to 30% of our overall debt, were expensive and unsustainable.
The key challenge lying ahead for him is judicial reform, as Pakistani judges appear resolute in maintaining their powers, from self-accountability to appointment of fellow judges. However, in the Mustafa Impax case, the Supreme Court has decreed that no prime minister can unilaterally advance legislation, financial or fiscal bills, or sanction budgetary or discretionary expenditures without first seeking the cabinet’s approval. In such a situation, where the prime minister is unable to make decisions without the cabinet’s consent, it would be quite a task for him to implement his agenda. This is particularly daunting when considering that, if elected, he will have to face the same judge, who played a crucial role in his conviction as the monitoring judge.
This complex scenario presents a momentous challenge for a single political party or an individual to effectively lead the nation. It is vital for all stakeholders, including various institutions, to acknowledge that past conflicts have pushed the country against a wall, necessitating external financial assistance to prevent economic collapse. In today’s modern era, political victimization should find no place.
Valid concerns have arisen regarding transparency and fairness of legal processes in cases involving Nawaz Sharif’s conviction, while Imran Khan has raised questions about the alleged political motivations behind cases against him. Both leaders should be granted their right to a fair trial, as enshrined in Article 10A of the Constitution. Such a course of action would not only rebuild trust in our judicial system but also establish the groundwork for political stability and economic prosperity.
Dr. Ikramul Haq, Advocate Supreme Court, specializes in constitutional, corporate, media, ML/CFT-related laws, IT, intellectual property, arbitration, and international tax laws. He was a full-time journalist from 1979 to 1984 with Viewpoint and Dawn. He served Civil Services of Pakistan from 1984 to 1996. He established Huzaima & Ikram in 1996 and is presently its chief partner as well as a partner in Huzaima Ikram & Ijaz. He studied journalism, English literature, and law. He is the Chief Editor of Taxation. He is the country editor and correspondent of the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) and a member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA). He is a Visiting Faculty at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and member Advisory Board and a Visiting Senior Fellow of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).
He has co-authored with Huzaima Bukhari many books that include Tax Reforms in Pakistan: Historic & Critical Review, Towards Flat, Low-rate, Broad and Predictable Taxes (Revised & Expanded Edition, Pakistan: Enigma of Taxation, Towards Flat, Low-rate, Broad and Predictable Taxes(revised/enlarged edition of December 2020), Law & Practice of Income Tax, Law, Practice of Sales Tax, Law and Practice of Corporate Law, Law & Practice of Federal Excise, Law & Practice of Sales Tax on Services, Federal Tax Laws of Pakistan, Provincial Tax Laws, Practical Handbook of Income Tax, Tax Laws of Pakistan, Principles of Income Tax with Glossary and Master Tax Guide, Income Tax Digest 1886-2011 (with judicial analysis).
He is the author of Commentary on Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements signed by Pakistan, Pakistan: From Hash to Heroin, its sequel Pakistan: Drug-trap to Debt-trap and Practical Handbook of Income Tax.
He regularly writes columns/articles/papers for many Pakistani newspapers and international journals and has contributed over 2500 articles on a variety of issues of public interest, printed in various journals, magazines, and newspapers at home and abroad.
Twitter: DrIkramulHaq
Abdul Rauf Shakoori, Advocate High Court, is a subject-matter expert on AML-CFT, Compliance, Cyber Crime, and Risk Management. He has been providing AML-CFT advisory and training services to financial institutions (banks, DNFBPs, Investment companies, Money Service Businesses, insurance companies, and securities), government institutions including law enforcement agencies located in North America (USA & CANADA), Middle East and Pakistan. His areas of expertise include legal, strategic planning, cross border transactions including but not limited to joint ventures (JVs), mergers & acquisitions (M&A), takeovers, privatizations, overseas expansions, USA Patriot Act, Banking Secrecy Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Over his career, he has demonstrated excellent leadership, communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills and has also developed and delivered training courses in the areas of AML/CFT, Compliance, Fraud and Financial Crime Risk Management, Bank Secrecy, Cyber Crimes and internet Threats against Banks, E–Channels Fraud Prevention, Security and Investigation of Financial Crimes. The courses have been delivered as practical workshops with case study-driven scenarios and exams to ensure knowledge transfer.
His notable publications are Rauf’s Compilation of Corporate Laws of Pakistan, Rauf’s Company Law and Practice of Pakistan Rauf’s Research on Labour Laws and Income Tax, and others.
His articles include Revenue Collection: Contemporary Targets vs. Orthodox Approach, It is Time to Say Goodbye to our past, US Double Standards, Was Due Process Flouted While Convicting Nawaz Sharif?, FATF and unjustly listed Pakistan, Corruption is No Excuse for Incompetence, Next step for Pakistan, Pakistan’s compliance with FATF mandates, a work in progress, Pakistan’s strategy to address FATF Mandates was Inadequate, Pakistan’s Evolving FATF Compliance, Transparency Curtails Corruption, Pakistan’s Long Road towards FATF Compliance, Pakistan’s Archaic Approach to Addressing FATF Mandates, FATF: Challenges for June deadline, Pakistan: Combating the illicit flow of money, Regulating Crypto: An uphill task for Pakistan. Pakistan’s economy – Chicanery of numbers. Pakistan: Reclaiming its space on FATF whitelist. Sacred Games: Kulbhushan Jadhav Case. National FATF Secretariat and Financial Monitoring Unit. The FATF challenge. Pakistan: Crucial FATF hearing. Pakistan: Dissecting FATF Failure, Environmental crimes: An emerging challenge, Countering corrupt practices.
Twitter: Adbul Rauf Shakoori
The recent publication, coauthored by these writes, is Pakistan Tackling FATF: Challenges & Solutions, available at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RXH8W46 and
