Daily Times

LAHORE: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday challenged former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to return to Pakistan and face the cases against him in courts of law, a private TV channel reported.

Speaking during an informal meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers and leaders at his Jati Umra residence in Raiwind, Nawaz said the time has come for violators of the law and the constitution to be punished. He said the courts will have to be awakened on Musharraf’s cases.

Terming the former president a ‘coward’ who is making excuses to stay abroad, the PML-N leader said, “If he is so brave, he must come to Pakistan and face the cases.” He also promised that the government would bring Musharraf back to the country very soon.

The former prime minister did not mention any particular case against Musharraf. However, the former military ruler is declared a proclaimed offender in Benazir Bhutto assassination case and there is a high treason case pending against him.

Earlier this week, for the first time since Nawaz’s disqualification at the hands of Supreme Court, the Sharif family publicly said that initiation of a treason case against Musharraf by the PML-N government was the reason behind his ouster.

A day after Bilawal Bhutto’s chants of ‘Musharraf qatil’ on Benazir’s death anniversary commemoration at Gari Khuda Bukhsh, Musharraf issued a video message, saying there was no evidence against him in the case. He had added that Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal had suddenly begun making statements against him to pressurise the army.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to depart for Saudi Arabia very soon on a ‘high-profile’ visit. He is likely to meet Turkish premier and Saudi Arabia’s top leadership during his visit.

On Friday, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique left for Saudi Arabia along with his family. The minister left for Jeddah from Allama Iqbal International Airport.

Nawaz’s brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is already in Saudi Arabia. He left Lahore for Medina on Wednesday and was expected to hold meetings with senior Saudi officials.

A day earlier, National Security Adviser Lt Gen (r) Nasser Khan Janjua met former premier Nawaz Sharif at latter’s Jati Umra residence in Raiwind, which reportedly lasted five hours. Matters of national security and relations with neighbouring countries and terrorism were reportedly discussed during the meeting.

Published in Daily Times, December 30^th 2017.