Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday that in the past the judiciary used to provide relief from curbs on speech placed by military dictators, however, it was restricting speech on its own now.
Speaking to the media at the accountability court, Nawaz said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should stop behaving as if a martial law was in place, adding that he was certain that the electronic media would censor his remarks. “As a citizen of the country, I have a right to voice my opinions.”
Referring to the NAB Ordinance, Nawaz said the Musharraf era ‘black law’ needed to be scrapped. “The people and the civil society agree that the judiciary should be reformed,” he said.
“Allegations involving millions and billions of rupees have been levelled against us, but not a single allegation has been proven to date,” he said. “We didn’t purchase the London flats from the national treasury, if they claim we obtained assets through corruption, then they should bring proofs against us.”
Published in Daily Times, April 25th 2018.
