Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, who was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by the accountability court in connection to the Avenfield reference case, said that she would fight against such “injustice and oppression”.
In a series of tweets, Maryam wrote, “The punishment for a 70-year-old activist in Pakistan is very small. Today, there should be courage to fight against oppression and this injustice.”
She added that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party was supporting her father in such tough times.
“Mr. Nawaz Sharif! You do not get scared, you do not mind. You preferred Pakistan on personal life. The party is standing with you. Victory will be yours, God willing,” Maryam tweeted.
She stated that her father was soon returning to Pakistan and “attempts” were being made to stop him.
“Today was the last attempt and God willing it will be unsuccessful like before,” Maryam wrote on the micro-blogging site.
She further said that her father will address the nation “sometime later”.
Prior to the verdict, Maryam appealed to the PML-N workers not to react to the accountability court’s decision in a negative way.
She asserted that “forces” were never successful in breaking Sharif’s tough times.
“PML-N’s lions, remember this! Do not get unsettled no matter what the verdict is. All of this is not new for your Nawaz Sharif, he has faced exile, disqualification, and life imprisonment [sentence] in the past,” Maryam wrote on Twitter.
“It is positive that there is a leader who, for you, for this country, and for your vote’s sanctity is steadfast in his resolve and is ready to make any sacrifice for the same,” she added.
Hitting out at other opposition parties, Maryam urged the public to “remember the faces of the conspirators and pawns on July 25,” the day when the general elections are slated to be held, adding that it was “now or never.”
“God willing, victory awaits you,” she tweeted, expressing PML-N’s victory in the elections.
Earlier in the day, Sharif was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of eight million pounds on Friday in the Avenfield, while Maryam was fined two million pounds.
With this ruling, Maryam is barred from contesting the general elections.
Her husband Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar was also sentenced to one year of imprisonment.
The verdict in the Avenfield reference case was read out by accountability court Judge Mohammad Bashir after postponing the announcement four times in a day.
The case pertains to the ownership of Avenfield properties in London by the Sharif family.
Sharif and Maryam are currently in London since June 14 visiting Kulsoom, who is suffering from cancer and is undergoing treatment there.
