Memorable quotes surrounding the corruption trial against Sharifs
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ISLAMABAD: As the saga which started in September last year after the lodging of corruption cases against the Sharif family enters its concluding stage, after more than 100 hearings, here’s a look at some memorable quotes surrounding the trial that made headlines:
‘Not a banana republic’
Oct 2, 2017: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, visibly agitated after being denied entry into the court premises by Rangers personnel, lashed out at his subordinates, saying “this is not a banana republic, it is a constitutional republic”. He had also vowed to resign than be a “puppet minister”, since the paramilitary force technically comes under his ministry.
‘Pick it up before they blame me for this too’
Nov 22, 2017: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, while inside the courtroom hearing the corruption cases against him and his family, informed a reporter that something is falling out of his pocket. He asked him to retrieve it lest he [Nawaz] be blamed for that too.
‘Pehlay haftay zabardast, doosray haftay zabardasti’
Jan 16, 2018: Talking to the media outside the court, Nawaz narrated a story about a famous big-budget film in Lahore in the 1960s. "After it was released, amid much fanfare, someone asked the producer and director how the movie was faring, to which they replied “Pehlay haftay zabardast, doosray haftay zabardasti (The first week was great but the second was forced)," said Nawaz, linking the 'grand' and then 'flop' turn of the film to his own corruption cases.
‘Mr Ladla’
March 10, 2018: “Mr Ladla, just wait for a few days. Just like Radley, Wajid Zia himself will disclose the truth about these ‘documents’,” Maryam Nawaz had tweeted after Imran Khan posted a tweet about documents supposedly exposing corruption of the Sharif family.
In May 2018, hearing the Bani Gala encroachments case, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar had remarked that Imran is no one’s “ladla”.
The chief justice was responding to PML-N leaders’ repeated referring to Imran as “Ladla (blue-eyed)” of the court as they claimed he was shown leniency by the Supreme Court and anti-terrorism court in various cases.
‘These new references are like a Dilip Kumar film’
March 20, 2018: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, addressing the media after his hearing, says the supplementary references filed by NAB are like a “Dilip Kumar film”.
‘No chance of disappointment when no expectations attached’
March 20, 2018: Talking to the media, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said that getting disappointed was not an option if there were no expectations attached to people.
APP/AFP
