Minister says Shahbaz out to clinch deal as PML-N rejects claim – Pakistan

LAHORE: Railroad Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Saturday fueled speculation about a possible "agreement" involving the Sharif family, saying that the president of the Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif was trying to " Fix things with factual powers "even though former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seemed to be" as stubborn as before. "

The PML-N quickly rejected Ahmed's claims and said that every time Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and his allies felt that the former prime minister could get relief from the court, they begin to declare that an agreement is being made.

At a press conference, the railroad minister said: “Shahbaz Sharif's policy is under test, as he strongly supports a successful dialogue in the context of an agreement. But Nawaz Sharif Sahib seems inflexible … On the other hand, Shahbaz is flexible and is doing everything possible in this regard. "

Ahmed said those who looted the country should understand that they could be arrested even in London and taken back to Pakistan.

He said the former prime minister had discussed several "important issues" during his individual talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jati Umrah.

"Before Nawaz, [former prime minister] Zafarullah Jamali also held individual conversations with the United States [leader]. And President Pervez Musharraf called me and asked me who had organized the talks. I didn't tell General Musharraf or me or the Foreign Minister [Khurshid] Kasuri was present at the talks. This was the cause of Mr. Jamali's dismissal, "Ahmed said.

He said that Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam's long march in Islamabad could be dangerous for his boss Maulana Fazlur Rehman. "I sent a message to Maulana Fazl, through Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, to do politics but not to set foot in a" hot place. "The banners and posters I have seen in Lahore show their ends and objectives. And if it goes to do this, ”he might regret later, Ahmed said.

PML-N posture

When asked to comment on the minister's claims about a possible agreement with the Sharif family, PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal said: "The judge of the liability court who issued a seven-year prison sentence to Nawaz Sharif in Al- Azizia Mills Case [Arshad Malik] He has become controversial and the higher courts have taken action against him in the light of the alleged video in which he said he gave the verdict under pressure.

“The PTI government now sees relief for Sharif as a writing on the wall due to the judge's confession and his controversial decision. That is why its ministers and advisors have begun to talk about an agreement.

"The purpose is to pressure the judges first so they don't give [Mr Sharif] relief and, secondly, in case you get a bond, it becomes controversial. This is Imran Khan's government game plan. "

Iqbal, who met with the former prime minister in the Kot Lakhpat jail recently along with Shahbaz Sharif, Khawaja Asif and lawyers of the Sharif family after obtaining & # 39; a special permit & # 39; from the Buzdar administration, he added that the stories about an agreement were in the media just because the cases against the PML-N leaders were going to be decided soon by the courts on merit and the government’s “responsibility wing” had no evidence against them. "This is the main concern of Mr. Khan and his company."

In response to a question from Dawn about the rumors of a "national government" in case the PTI-led government has not improved its performance in the coming months, the PML-N secretary general said: "We are moving quickly towards a dead end due to bad government policies inept There is an economic crisis and it is feared that our strategic interests may be compromised due to this.

"That is why Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N want a free and fair midterm election in 2020 so that a new elected government can get the country out of the crisis."

When asked if a message from someone in the establishment had been sent to Mr. Sharif in jail that an agreement could be reached under which he could leave the country with his daughter Maryam Nawaz for a specific period, Ahsan He simply said The supreme leader of his party had not been contacted in this regard.

Sources in the PML-N say that Sharif is not prepared to leave the country because, unlike the last time he agreed to do so, he has nothing to lose now.

“There was an attempt to pressure the former prime minister using the emotional family card. Mr. Sharif's mother was even asked to convince him to leave the country. But Sharif has categorically said that he has nothing to lose and will not make a deal, "said a source.

It is said that Prime Minister Khan opposes the idea of ​​allowing Sharif a "safe passage to a foreign country." He has made it clear that the former prime minister can leave the country only under a plea agreement.

Posted on Dawn, September 22, 2019