'Mark my words, court will punish me': Nawaz

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Wednesday said that the detailed judgment of Supreme Court on review petition filed by him against the July 28 Panama Papers verdict "was not a decision but a message to the accountability court to punish me at all costs." Talking to reporters at Federal Judicial Complex after appearing before the anti-graft court in three corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against him, he said that the decision had already been written.
"Mark my words, court will (be forced by certain elements to) punish me," he remarked. Sharif further said the words used in the detailed judgment of review petition, are like the words which normally used by his political opponents. To a question about granting bail by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, he alleged that the courts carry double standard. "On one hand we can all see the way my case is being treated, on the other hand we can see how other people's cases are being treated. Laws and rules are different for both the cases," he said, adding that in his case laws and rules are different.
He said that they are struggling against these double standards of court and will take this struggle to its logical end. Later, Nawaz chaired an informal consultative meeting at Punjab House which was attended by senior party leaders including Raja Zafarul Haq, Governor Sindh Mohammad Zubair, Khawaja Saad Rafique and others in which the party rejected the PTI's demand for early election in the country.
The meeting also discussed the preparations in connection with the next general election and decided that election will be held on time and that Nawaz Sharif would lead the party in the next polls. The party leaders also discussed the overall political situation of the country. On the occasion, industrialist Mirza Ishtiaq Baig also joined the PML-N. Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai also held a meeting with Nawaz Sharif and discussed prevailing political situation of the country.
According to the party sources, Achakzai backs the PML-N's decision of holding the general election on time. He said the incumbent assemblies should complete their constitutional tenure without accepting any "pressure," said the sources. They said that Achakzai also advised the PML-N leadership to refrain from criticizing the state institutions, especially judiciary.