Opposition leaders have labelled his statement as ‘supporting anti-Pakistan forces’, with Imran Khan calling him ‘modern-day Mir Jafar’ – that is, a traitor.
New Delhi: Nawaz Sharif’s recent interview with the Dawn newspaper is not being taken lightly by opposing political parties in Pakistan. In an unprecedented move, the former Prime Minister admitted Saturday that militant outfits are active in the country, and were responsible for crossing the border and killing people in Mumbai on 26 November 2008.
“Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill over 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?” Sharif said.
With the Pakistani general elections slotted for this year, and in the backdrop of Sharif’s own fall from political power at the hands of the judiciary, his remarks are being seen as an attempt to malign the country’s institutions.
‘Modern-day Mir Jafar’
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder and former cricket captain Imran Khan tweeted his condemnation of Sharif’s remarks Sunday. He called Nawaz Sharif a “modern-day Mir Jafar, who collaborated with the British to enslave his nation for personal gains”.
Khan claimed that the only reason Sharif has spoken out against his own country is to “try and protect his wrongdoings.”
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 13, 2018
Pakistan’s longest serving PM, Sharif was disqualified for life from office by the Supreme Court in 2017 for not disclosing the income he received in 2013 from his son’s Dubai-based Capital FZE company. In April this year, the Supreme Court also banned Sharif from holding any public office for life, thereby ending any prospects of a political resurrection.
The 2016 Panama Papers leak also revealed that Sharif’s family held millions of dollars worth of shares and property in companies in the UK, and around the world.
Khan accused Sharif of “speaking Modi’s language” against the Pakistani state, “simply to protect his ill-gotten” Rs 300 billion “stashed in his sons companies abroad”. The PTI leader also questioned the timing of Sharif’s statements, asking why the former leader did not speak out when he was in power.
According to a report by The Nation, PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi called Sharif’s statements an “open pro-Indian declaration”, going as far as to say that the Mumbai attack was India’s self-made drama, and that the country has failed to give any proof about Pakistan’s involvement.
The daily also reported that PPP leader Manzoor Watoo had declared the interview to be a serious attack on Pakistan’s national interests, and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal secretary general Liaqat Baloch said Sharif’s statement was “shocking” and “supported the narrative of anti-Pakistan forces”.
Reaction in India
In India, special public prosecutor in the 2008 Mumbai attacks case, Ujjwal Nikam, said Saturday that Sharif’s interview proved he was aware of the conspiracy behind the terrorist attack, but made no substantive efforts while in power to push for the completion of 26/11-related cases in court.
The trials related to the attack continue to be stalled in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.
“This disclosure of Sharif would definitely embarrass the Pakistan army and the ISI on the international platform,” Nikam said.
Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman also used Sharif’s name, though in a different context – to further the attack on the Congress for corruption. Comparing income tax cases against former finance minister P. Chidambaram with the corruption charges against Sharif, she said in a press conference in Delhi Sunday: “In India, for the Congress party, this is the Nawaz Sharif moment.”
For context, on top of the previous charges of withholding the declaration of income and the Panama Papers leak, Pakistan’s top anti-corruption body has recently ordered a probe against Sharif for allegedly laundering $4.9 billion to India.