Nawaz claims 'army generals' had conspired against his govt too

Says he would accept an FIA probe against him in the Asghar Khan case even though the agency reports to Rehman Malik.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharif blamed ‘army generals’ for conspiring against his elected government in the past, claiming that gunny bags full of money were brought in Punjab to topple his government, Dawn News reported on Friday.

In an interview to a private news channel, he dismissed allegations of receiving money from former Mehran Bank head Younis Habib, a charge leveled against him in the Mehrangate case.

“Had I received money and had he been kind enough to us, my government would have not have fired him from his post.”

Commenting on the Supreme Court’s verdict in the case and the possible investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against him, Nawaz said that he would accept the probe despite the fact that the agency reports to Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

He also said that the government should implement the court’s orders in letter and spirit.

Earlier, his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had said that the Supreme Court had not named any particular politician in the Asghar Khan case order, but has only said that politicians did not honour their oath.

Talking about the law and order situation in the country, the PML-N chief said that bringing the country to normalcy was an uphill task, particularly in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Karachi where the situation was getting out of control.

General Elections

On his party's strategy for the upcoming general elections, Nawaz said that the PML-N will form an electoral alliance with a party which would ensure peace in Karachi.

“We might not need any alliance prior to elections anyway,” he added.

Speaking about the political scenario in Punjab, he said that his party would be fielding strong candidates in the elections, from every constituency of the province, adding that the PML-N would accept poll results even if they lost, as the party had already put up with the incumbent government with humility.

The PML-N chief demanded that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government should announce the dates for general elections and end the ‘suspense.’