Nawaz Sharif to be brought back, says information minister

Shibli vows govt will not succumb to opposition’s political blackmailing

ISLAMABAD:

Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz said on Friday the government would use legal process to bring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to the country and warned that Prime Minister Imran Khan would not succumb to the political blackmailing by the opposition.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Faraz said that Nawaz Sharif was drinking coffee in London and doing politics, while at home, Maulana Fazlur Rehman was talking to Bilawal Bhutto but not with Shahbaz Sharif.

“We will use all legal means to bring Nawaz Sharif back. The government has decided to contact the British government through the Foreign Office to bring him back,” the minister told the press conference. “Nawaz Sharif should come back.”

He said that the court and the government allowed Nawaz to leave the country on humanitarian grounds. “Nawaz Sharif went to London under the pretext of treatment, but once there he did not go for even an X-ray. He made a mockery of the country’s laws under the pretext of his illness,” he added.

“Nawaz Sharif will have to come back and face the law. If Nawaz Sharif is innocent, why he is running away from the laws and the courts. He should come back to the country and answer the allegations against him.”

Faraz insisted that it was the duty of the government to uphold the law. He said that the British government would be contacted through the Foreign Office to bring Nawaz back, adding that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would be asked to contact the Foreign Office in this regard.

Commenting the opposition parties’ politics, the minister said that Imran Khan did not succumb to political blackmail in the past and he would not succumb now. “We will never be blackmailed by the opposition,” he added.

FATF legislation

He said that the opposition wanted NRO – a reference to the amnesty granted by then military ruler Pervez Musharraf to the politicians in 2007 through the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). NAB sought accountability of Maryam Nawaz, but she “staged a drama of attack” on her, he added.

“The opposition seeks NRO from government under the guise of its support for FATF [Financial Action Task Force] bills. The opposition sought 35 amendments to the NAB law for their personal benefits,” the minister told the press conference.

He said that the FATF would decide next month whether to keep Pakistan in its grey list or put the country into blacklist. “Under the FATF, we must enact new legislation. The most important legislation is to about preventing money laundering,” he said.

“The opposition is well aware of the dangers of being blacklisted. The FATF blacklist hurts any country to a certain extent. It makes it difficult for any country to get loans. Going to the blacklist, greatly reduces the exchange rate of the domestic currency,” he said.

He said that the focus of every policy of Prime Minister Imran Khan was the welfare of the poor people. He added that the prime minister opposed a coronavirus-induced complete lockdown in view of the difficulties it posed for the poor masses.