Maryam Nawaz accuses ISI chief of 'orchestrating' her conviction in corruption case

In a big embarrassment for the Pakistani military, PML(N) vice president Maryam Nawaz accused ISI chief Faiz Hameed of orchestrating her conviction in a corruption case. Leading the campaign for 'civilian supremacy', three-time Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were convicted by an accountability court in the Avenfield reference case on July 6, 2018, and sentenced to 10 years and 7 years in prison respectively. Though the Islamabad High Court suspended their sentence and granted them bail in September 2018, her chance to enter Parliament was thwarted.

Though her appeal against her conviction is pending before the Islamabad HC, she filed a fresh application seeking the annulment of the verdict in the Avenfield reference case. Nailing the Pakistani military's interference in politics which is evident from the fact that not a single PM has completed his 5-year tenure since 1947, she claimed that the entire case reeked of "political engineering". To buttress her point, she highlighted former Islamabad HC judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui's affidavit in which he accused the military establishment of trying to influence the verdict against her and the ex-PM.

Faiz Hameed reportedly met him twice, predicted the outcome of the judgment against the father-daughter duo and tried to convince him to obey the military's desire. Moreover, the ISI head allegedly indicated to Siddiqui that Pakistani Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa was actively involved in this conspiracy and revealed that he was removed from the division bench scheduled to hear the appeal of the PML(N) leaders owing to the fear that he will rule in their favour. In October 2018, Pakistan's Supreme Judicial Council sacked him as a judge finding him guilty of "misconduct".

In her application, Maryam Nawaz also highlighted the purported video of Arshad Malik, the judge who handed down the verdict in the corruption case. This video showed Malik admitting that there was "immense pressure" on him to convict the accused in the Avenfield reference case. Reiterating that the verdict was a clear mockery of justice, she asserted that the benefit of the doubt must go to the accused. 

Opposition to military's interference

Pakistan's opposition parties including PML(N) have alleged that the 2018 General Election was rigged before and on the counting day at the behest of the military establishment. For instance, polling agents of various parties were reportedly thrown out during the counting process, thus casting doubts on the legitimacy of Imran Khan becoming the Prime Minister. In recent times, Maryam Nawaz has been at the forefront of opposing the role of the Pakistani military in influencing political decisions.

Opposing Pakistan's nefarious role in Afghanistan, she told the media on September 8, "Pakistan must respect the will of Afghan brothers and sisters. As Afghanistan is a sovereign country, Pakistan should not impose its decision on them. We must not interfere in their internal matters. Instead, we must stand with the international community and assist in rehabilitating the Afghan civilians who have been victims of a long-standing war and help them in rebuilding the nation."