“ASSALAMU Alaikum. Assalamu Alaikum. Assalamu Alaikum,” Maryam Nawaz Sharif says as she strides into the courtroom, greeting in turn the judge, lawyers and mediapersons gathered to witness her first indictment.

She has been in the news ever since her father’s party formed the government following the 2013 general elections.

But when she was standing by his side as he announced victory in the polls on the fateful night, not even the veteran politician in Nawaz Sharif could have predicted that just over four years later, she would have to face a judge trying her on charges of corruption.

Minutes before her arrival, Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir asks Dr Asif Kirmani, who has reserved a seat for his former boss’ daughter, the whereabouts of “the accused persons”.

Mr Kirmani doesn’t answer, but rises instead to make a phone call and walks out, returning minutes later to inform the judge that both Maryam and her husband are on their way.

By the time she enters the courtroom at around 8:30am, her seat is already reserved in the first row. As she takes her seat, Mr Kirmani and Tariq Fatemi sit down next to her.

The former adviser to the ex-PM, who was sent home due to his alleged role in the controversy around a Dawn story, seems to be extra vigilant in keeping a watchful eye on his charge.

So careful, in fact, that when a fly lands on her shoulder, Mr Fatemi tries to swat it away with his leather binder. The sudden contact catches Maryam off guard and she stands up. When Mr Fatemi explains what happened, she relents and sits back down.

This is her third appearance before the accountability court, which began proceedings on Sept 26; Maryam and Capt Safdar joined the trial on Oct 9.

That day, she and her husband had flown back from London mere hours before they were due in court, and Capt Safdar had been whisked away by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as soon as they stepped out of Rawal Lounge.

At that hearing, Maryam was visibly nervous and did not seem to understand everything that was going on. But the woman that faces the court today is more confident and determined than ever before.

With a digital rosary in one hand and a prayer on her lips, she observes proceedings with the curiosity of someone who is new to the world of courts and lawyers.

The courtroom is decidedly less cramped on this occasion, mainly because lawyers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have decided to stay away.

This and the successive intervals in court proceedings give journalists covering the trial a chance to interact with former premier’s daughter.

At one point, when Matiullah Jan and I are standing together, she leans over to us and, addressing Mati, says: “I know who you are, but I do not think [your friend and I] have been acquainted yet.”

Pointing in my direction, my colleague introduces me. “So you are Dawn?” she asks. “He is the real don,” Mati replies, tongue-in-cheek.

But the media’s game of Chinese whispers turns this innocuous exchange into a feeding frenzy. A reporter jots down the ticker “Mediapersons are the real dons, says Maryam Nawaz” and the wonders of WhatsApp propel it to TV screens in a matter of minutes.

Back in the courtroom, Maryam’s own information network whirrs into action and minutes later, she receives a screenshot of the offending ticker on her phone. Displeased with being misquoted, she asks a nearby TV reporter: “When did I say this?”

The journalist, unable to come up with a good explanation, can only apologise.

In her interaction with the media inside the courtroom, Maryam tries to convince reporters that the Sharifs are the only political family that has surrendered before the courts, despite being certain that they will be denied justice.

She repeats the words ‘Sicilian mafia’ over and over again. Used by a Supreme Court judge to describe the then ruling family, the term has obviously touched a nerve.

“Have you ever heard of the Sicilian mafia appearing before the courts as accused?” she asks reporters, who can only nod their heads in unison.

But while the court was hearing arguments on the various applications filed by Nawaz Sharif and Capt Safdar, she was busy scribbling in her notebook.

The subject of her writings becomes clear when the accountability judge calls her for indictment and she approaches the rostrum. The judge reads out the charges against her in connection with the Avenfield House properties, as well as submission of a fabricated trust deed.

But Maryam appears overconfident and breathless, starting to read aloud from the paper handed to her by her lawyer.

“I, Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif…” she reads, from her father’s charge sheet.

“No, no, this is the wrong one,” the judge interjects, but Maryam continues.

“You’ve given her the wrong paper,” the judge tells her counsel, who is forced to rectify his mistake.

Annoyed by the interruption, Maryam begins to make her own declaration.

“Judge sahib, I refuse to accept the charges and allegations based on a report which is mala fide intentions.”

She pleads not guilty, and it is done. Maryam Nawaz Sharif has been indicted in a corruption case.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2017