ISLAMABAD: Ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared before an anti-corruption court on Tuesday, kicking off trial proceedings that he says are biased and which threaten to dent his party’s chances at the next general election due in mid-2018.
Sharif briefly appeared before a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court in Islamabad on three corruption charges. He did not enter a plea.
Local TV channels reported that Sharif is scheduled to be formally indicted on Oct. 2, about two months after his disqualification by the Supreme Court for not declaring a small source of income that he denied receiving.
A Supreme Court panel has also alleged Sharif family’s wealth far exceeds their legal income.
“He has appeared before the court and by appearing he has proved to be a lion,” said Marvi Memom, a lawmaker for Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)party.
Sharif, who returned from London on Monday after about a month in Britain, told the court his wife was being treated for cancer in London and needs his care.
He did not speak to the media after his court appearance but is due to hold a televised press conference at 3pm (1000 GMT).
Sharif has portrayed the corruption claims against him as politically motivated, while his allies, including daughter and heir-apparent Maryam, have hinted Pakistan’s powerful military had a hand in his toppling. The military denies any such action.
“It’s a good thing that finally NAB and such institutions are holding rich and powerful to the count,” said Shafqat Mahmood, a senior members of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
PTI, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan who doggedly pushed the Supreme Court into launching a corruption probe into Sharif, has called for an early election but it is unlikely the government will agree to that.
Sharif’s returned to Pakistan quashed growing speculation that his long absense was the start of another period in exile for the veteran leader whose three stints as prime minister were all cut short, including one by a military coup in 1999.
“What kind of justice is this, what kind of accountability is this?” Sharif told reporters outside his upscale London apartment in London before departing for Islamabad on Sunday.
Two of Sharif’s sons are also due to appear before a NAB court, as well as Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, a long-time ally who is married into the Sharif family.
Analysts say Sharif’s return to Pakistan was in large part due to fears of defections within the PML-N, a common occurrence in a nation where politicians switch allegiances ahead of polls depending on which way the political winds are blowing.
Sharif kept control of PML-N after his ouster and installed loyalist Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as prime minister.
The Supreme Court has told the NAB courts that the trials into the Sharifs must be over within six months, with opponents betting that a flow of negative news from the trials will hurt PML-N’s popularity ahead at the next election.
Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif appears before anti-corruption court, set to be indicted
Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif appears before anti-corruption court, set to be indicted
26 Doctors without Borders workers remain unaccounted for in South Sudan a month after attacks
- A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said
- “We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity”
NAIROBI: More than two dozen Doctors Without Borders workers remain unaccounted for a month after attacks in South Sudan, the medical charity said.
Two facilities belonging to the group, known by French acronym MSF, were attacked on Feb. 3 in Jonglei State, northeast of the capital, Juba, where violence has displaced an estimated 280,000 people since December.
A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said, while another medical facility in the town of Pieri was raided by “unknown assailants.” Both were located in opposition-held areas.
Staff working at the two facilities fled alongside much of the local population into deeply rural areas where armed clashes and aerial bombardments were ongoing.
MSF said in a statement on Monday that “26 of 291 of our colleagues working in Lankien and Pieri remain unaccounted for.
“We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity,” it said.
The lack of communication with its staff could be linked to the limited network connectivity in much of the state. Staff members who had been contacted described “destruction, violence and extreme hardships.”
Fighting escalated sharply in December, when opposition forces captured a string of government outposts in north central Jonglei. In January, the government responded with a counteroffensive that recaptured most of the area it had lost.
Displaced people in Akobo, an opposition-held town near the Ethiopian border, described horrific violence by government fighters. Many described not being able to find food or water as they walked for days to reach safety.
The attacks on MSF facilities in Lankien and Pieri are part of an uptick in violence on humanitarian staff, supplies and infrastructure, aid groups say. MSF facilities have been attacked 10 times in the last 12 months.
“This violence has taken an unbearable toll not only on health care services, but on the very people who kept them running,” said Yashovardhan, MSF head of mission in South Sudan, who only uses one name.
“Medical workers must never be targets,” he said. “We are deeply concerned about what has happened to our colleagues and the communities we serve.”
