Snake found from Islamabad court as Nawaz Sharif appears for corruption hearing

ISLAMABAD - People at an accountability court in Pakistan’s federal capital got extremely uncomfortable when they spotted a 5-foot snake on Wednesday.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is facing multiple corruption cases in the wake of Panama Papers scandal, had just left the courtroom in Islamabad when the reptile was found from the court premises.

People were frightened after seeing the snake while security personnel were called in who killed the reptile (most likely a Russell's Viper).



Russell’s viper, also known as the “chain viper” from the genus Daboia, is the most common viper in Pakistan. Although it's primarily nocturnal, during the day the Russell’s viper may be found basking under shrubs, which accounts for most reported cases of bites on humans when they mistakenly step on the snake in its natural habitat. The bite causes pain, swelling and bleeding, leading to decreased blood pressure and reduced heart rate. The mortality rate of victims is 40 to 92 percent.

A handsome snake, the yellowish-brown adults are 3 to 5 feet long and feed on rodents, birds lizards, squirrels, crabs and scorpions.

Most often, the calls are about a snake in a tree or off the ground somewhere.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/most-dangerous-snake-species-discovered-in-rawalapindi/

Talking to media persons outside Accountability Court, the former prime minister blamed former president Pervez Musharraf for his troubles.

The embattled former premier Nawaz Sharif told the media outside that the three corruption cases filed against him were a result of the high treason case he instituted against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

Sharif, 68, said the corruption cases as well as the sit-in protests of 2014 were due to the legal action taken against Musharraf for imposing emergency in the country.

"After the elections, my government reached out to lawyers to start formulating a treason case against Musharraf as per law. I was warned in advance that if I proceed with this, the former president will emerge scratch-less but I will be the one facing hurdles," Sharif told reporters after appearing before the accountability court where he completed recording of his statement in response to 128 questions asked by the court.

It took him three days to record the statement.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/did-not-ousted-intelligence-chief-who-asked-for-resignation-in-larger-interests-nawaz/

Sharif and his family are facing three corruption cases in the Accountability Court after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed cases against them following the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panama Papers case.

Apart from Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar are accused of purchasing the London properties through corrupt means.

Sharif was disqualified to hold the office of the prime minister by the Supreme Court on July 28 last year in the Panama Papers case.

He was disqualified for not being "honest and righteous" as he failed to declare in 2013 a salary he got from the company of his son in the UAE.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/panama-case-verdict-pakistan-supreme-court-disqualifies-pm-nawaz-sharif/

In February, the apex court also disqualified Sharif as the head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).