Nawaz Sharif will be in jail by January 15: Shibli

Blames PPP for 'orchestrating the drama' of Capt Safdar's arrest

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said on Friday that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be in a jail in Pakistan by January 15.

Addressing the media, the federal minister maintained that everything was being done to stop the legal process behind the arrest of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) supremo.

However, he added that the federal government was doing all in its power to bring the PML-N chief back. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will not leave him [Nawaz] off the hook.

The information minister further said that the government was building diplomatic pressure for the PML-N supremo's return, and the government was also making use of diplomatic channels with Britain.

Referring to PML-N Vice President, also Nawaz's daughter, Maryam Nawaz's statement, made earlier in the day, that the PTI-led government will be done for by January, Shibli said that "she [Maryam] keeps repeating the same thing, but doesn't clarify January of what year".

"The government will leave in January, but in January of 2028," the minister observed.

He further stated that the opposition had no interest in the country's economy. "When the Covid-19 outbreak occurred, the opposition was doing nothing. After facing defeat on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) bill, they started hiding behind their rallies," the information minister said.

Referring to the arrest of PML-N leader Captain (retd) Safdar, the minister said, "What does Prime Minister Imran Khan have to do with his arrest?"

He blamed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for "orchestrating the drama" of Safdar's arrest, saying its their government in Sindh. "They should have apologised for the desecration of the Quaid's mausoleum," the senator added.

Shibli further claimed that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto was "taking revenge on Maryam Nawaz for the smear campaign run by her father [Nawaz Sharif] against his [Bilawal] mothehr - former prime minister Benazir Bhutto".

Discussing the pandemic that has caused havoc all across the globe, Shibli Faraz said the PTI government has fought the virus better than most countries.

A day earlier, the federal minister had said the opposition was trying to hurt the image of the country. He reiterated that the opposition wants to weaken the country and its democracy.

"Opposition parties want to create chaos and uncertainty out of fear that their power will end once Prime Minister Imran Khan succeeds in his mission to take forward the country on the path of progress and development," he said.