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Piling on the agony, land grabbing case against Mrs Sharif is aimed at her sons


Editorial in Pakistan Today, Nov 5, 2020
The proceedings in a civil suit against the mother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PML(N) President Shehbaz Shraif, accusing her of landgrabbing, come at a particularly sensitive juncture, at the time when the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is ratcheting up the pressure against the PTI government. The plaintiff alleges that Mrs Sharif had illegally got the plaintiff’s mother to sign the transfer deed by force, and has asked the civil court to set aside the sale deed. In her response, Mrs Sharif said she had bought 108 kanals legally, had all relevant documents, and possessed all relevant documents. The rights or the wrongs are not for anyone but the court to decide, and clearly it has not, for it has told the plaintiff to file a response at the next hearing. As it is a civil suit, it cannot be assumed that there will a decision any time soon. However, the moving ahead of the suit must be seen within the context of the PDM movement.

The PTI might claim that the hearing was merely a coincidence, but that would ignore the highly violent statements by PTI chief Imran Khan, which may not only reflect his personal biases, but also his appeals to his base, which seems informed by a personal animus against the Sharif brothers. Mr Khan’s talk of ‘dragging back’ Mr Nawaz Sharif from London, along with the twists and turns caused by the fact that he was the one permitting him to travel, merely strengthen the impression that, unable to get anything from a direct persecution of the brothers (one of whom is abroad, the other in jail in NAB custody), or of their children (Nawaz’s daughter Maryam is out on bail, Shehbaz’s son Hamza is also in jail in NAB custody), the government is now turning its attention to their mother.

The apparent obsession of the PTi with the Sharifs should not exceed the bounds of the law, and should not chase after shadows. The law must take its course, and the accountability machinery should not be demeaned by being used for partisan politics.https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/11/04/piling-on-the-agony/