ISLAMABAD: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the trial of former military dictator retired General Pervez Musharraf on treason charges will be taken to its logical conclusion one day.

Talking to media personnel before the start of proceedings of his own trial in the accountability court here on Friday, Mr Sharif said the former army chief’s trial would have to be concluded despite recusal of a judge or dissolution of the bench concerned and subsequent adjournments and other delays.

The case would have to be decided no matter whether Gen Musharraf remained away or appeared before the bench concerned, he said.

Says his sons will join his trial at appropriate time

When a reporter told him that Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had clarified that he did not use the word faryadi (supplicant) for Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Mr Sharif said if the top adjudicator of the country did use the word initially, he should have stuck with it.

“I have read several news reports and tweets on the CJP’s remarks and I believe that use of such words for an elected prime minister or any other citizen is humiliating,” the former premier insisted.

When a reporter said the media was always on the lookout for spicy news, Mr Sharif said he could not produce such news items.

However, there was a place in Islamabad that was generating such reports frequently nowadays, he added.

When a journalist said he was referring to the third pillar of state, the former premier simply smiled.

He parried a question about his relations with former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and said the issue was no longer topical.

Mr Sharif was of the opinion that the star witness in the London apartments reference, Wajid Zia, had “absolved him of the allegations” in the case.

In response to a question about the absence of his sons from the trial proceedings, he said that Hussain and Hassan Nawaz had never held public office, nor were they politicians. “They are running the family business and will join the trial at an appropriate time.”

The former prime minister said the National Accountability Bureau’s references were related to the family assets of the Sharif family.

“They don’t mention corruption of a single rupee,” he claimed.

When prosecution witness Wajid Zia entered the courtroom with three trunks and suitcases full of documents, Mr Sharif said that trunks and cases were once the proud products of Sialkot.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2018