Seldom do political bigwigs agree on one point and use the same statements. But, it seems PTI chief Imran Khan was second to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in saying “absolutely not” to offers that were apparently difficult for their opponents or predecessors to refuse.

“Five billion dollars worth of amount was offered to us, we said, even on this absolutely not,” Nawaz Sharif said in a press conference described as “heart-to-heart”, in London on Sunday.

The term “absolutely not” became the buzzword in 2021 when former prime minister Imran said it in reply to a question about whether he would allow the American government to have CIA in Pakistan to conduct cross-border counterterrorism missions against Al Qaeda, ISIS, or the Taliban.

He had told Axios on HBO in an interview. Since then the cricketer-turned-politician has been using it in his political speeches to tame rivals for their apparent inefficiency to say no to a superpower. Imran has further been cashing on it after his ouster from the prime minister’s office.

Nawaz said that Maryam had come to London after three years and she had met her brothers and father for the “first time” since the demise of her mother.

He said that he requested the National Accountability Bureau ( NAB) to delay the verdict for at least a week because deteriorating health of his wife, Kulsoom Nawaz.

“The NAB judge announced the verdict and sentenced me to 10 years in jail and Maryam seven,” the PML-N supremo said and added that the NAB was in a rush of announcing the verdict to oust me from participating in the general election.

“Following the verdict, I urged Maryam that we should now go to Pakistan. Maryam told me that her mother’s condition is deteriorating. But in response, I told her that there are some national responsibilities that we have to attend to,” he said.

Nawaz said that he was convicted in a case in 2018, and the motive behind it was to foil PML-N’s bid to come into power once again as the verdict came right when the general elections were around the corner.

“When I was sent to jail, Maryam would often come to visit me. Once, when she was visiting me, we were informed that NAB personnel were outside Kot Lakhpat Jail and wanted to arrest Maryam,” he said.

“Like a brave daughter who supports her father. Maryam has proved it and I am proud of her, adding that the party and his brother Shehbaz Sharif acknowledge it,” he said.

“There is no compromise on Pakistan’s integrity.” He claimed that Pakistan suffered because of political victimisation.

“I pleaded with them to let me talk, but they didn’t allow it and took me to my cell.”

Nawaz claimed that he was not allowed to speak to his late wife who was then battling cancer. “After three hours, they came to me that we are saddened that your wife passed away so you can imagine what I have been going through,” he said and added one could imagine what his condition had been when heard the news of his wife’s death while he was in jail.

The former premier said that the cases lodged against him were “fabricated”. “Why five precious years of his life were wasted?” he questioned and added that it was his right as a Pakistani national to ask them.

Imran Khan took U-turns with regard to everything

The PML-N supremo said that each and every act that his opponents had done, were gradually being exposed.

“He [Imran Khan] has taken a U-turn with regard to everything. He claimed that he would prefer dying by suicide instead of striking a deal with the IMF,” he said and added that the nation was still waiting for the PTI chief to take his own life as per his claims.

Nawaz then referenced the alleged audio clip of former chief justice Saqib Nisar, in which he can be purportedly heard telling another person that the PML-N supremo and Maryam would have to be punished to make space for Imran Khan in politics.

“We faced injustice repeatedly, but no judge took a suo motu notice of that. Judge Arshad Malik has accepted that he was pressurised into convicting me,” he said.

Nawaz Sharif demanded judges be answerable and held accountable for the “injustices” they meted out to his family.

“In the last four to five years, everything has been reversed. The world is watching and so are we,” he added

Nawaz claimed that during his tenure, Pakistan was moving towards becoming a strong economy as terrorism was almost eliminated and the financial position of the country was also strengthening.

Nawaz lashed out Imran Khan saying that if the PTI chief wanted to take revenge against him, “that’s fine, by all means.” The former premier asked who allowed them to take revenge on Pakistan?

“Taking revenge against me, you [Imran] have destroyed Pakistan,” adding that how “everything became more expensive during Imran Khan’s tenure.”

“In the last four to five years, everything has been reversed.”

Nawaz Sharif said that inflation in the country skyrocketed during Imran Khan’s tenure. While “During my government, people were happy and content,” blaming Imran Khan’s government for the country’s economic woes.

“We had ended loadshedding, but Imran restarted it. Imran also deteriorated Pakistan’s relationship with other countries,” the PML-N supremo said.