EITHER by design or default, PTI government allowed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was convicted by Accountability Court, to seek treatment in London on the basis of fake medical reports. The track record of his breaking promises and submitting forged documents in the Supreme Court in Panama Papers case was also ignored. Foreign Office informed Islamabad High Court on Tuesday that former Prime Minister was fully aware about the proceedings pertaining to Al-Azizia Steel Mill and Avenfield apartments and he is deliberately skipping attendance. The Foreign Office submitted the report regarding implantation of arrest warrants to the London residence of Nawaz Sharif before a division bench of Islamabad High Court comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.
Government is now facing fallout and embarrassment on account of allowing former convicted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to run away abroad on pretext of serious illness. It relied on the medical report of a hospital in Lahore. Before taking formal decision to permit him to take treatment in London, the medical reports produced by the former foxy Prime Minister should have been evaluated by a medical board comprising of relevant specialist doctors from federal government hospitals to establish the authenticity of those reports. The media hype created by certain media outlets about the deteriorating health of Nawaz Sharif may have also influenced the decision of the federal government.
It is also not believable that government was not aware of the ground reality that UK government will not entertain request of Nawaz Sharif extradition due to non-existence of extradition treaty between the two countries. Moreover, UK government does not apply their “Financial Crimes Act” of 2017 to political figures, who launders money to the so called land governed by rule of law.
