Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday denied any deal was made in Saudi Arabia to release deposed premier Nawaz Sharif from prison, saying he was “not important enough for either country to make a deal over”.

“No country asked for Nawaz Sharif’s release,” he said. “Nawaz is not such an important figure that Saudi Arabia would speak for him,” the information minister clarified after a journalist posed a question regarding the release of Sharifs at a press conference.

The statement came a day after the Islamabad High Court suspended the sentences of former premier Nawaz, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law in the Avenfield properties reference.

Rumours were rife that a deal had been struck for the release of Sharifs during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

Chaudhry said that Prime Minister Imran Khan did not have personal enmity with the former premier and his daughter Maryam.

He said Nawaz, Maryam and Safdar would not be allowed to leave the country, while Hussain and Hasan Nawaz along with Ishaq Dar won’t be allowed to stay abroad and efforts would be made to extradite them.

He added that the government would focus to bring back the looted wealth stashed abroad and an agreement has been signed with the United Kingdom on stolen assets and suspects in this regard.

“Nawaz will be sent back to same place where he was a few days ago,” he said. He further said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was an independent organisation, but it was necessary to see if there was any weak prosecution in the case Sharifs and how it could be improved.

He said that Nawaz was freed by the courts, and the weakness and loopholes leading to the release would be removed. He said that Avenfield reference case was straightforward relating to assets beyond known means of income and the Sharif family had failed to prove it.

Referring to PM Imran’s first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, the information minister said that the visit was successful wherein Pakistan invited the kingdom to become part of the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

“Saudi Arabia is the first country which has been invited to become part of the CPEC. Pakistan will include Saudi Arabia as the third strategic partner,” he said, adding that Pakistan had Saudi leadership of support in this regard.

The federal minister said that a high-level consultation committee had been formed on the directives of the Saudi King. “Furthermore, the Saudi Foreign, Energy and Commerce ministers will visit Pakistan in October.”

Chaudhry said that the visit had paved the way for increased cooperation and Pakistan would witness heavy Saudi investment and there would also be cooperation on security-related matters.

The minister also briefed the media about the premier’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Pakistani delegation met Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zaid and discussed matters of mutual interest.

He added that the complications surrounding the procurement of UAE visas would soon be resolved.

Chaudhry also lambasted Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Nafisa Shah for opposing the conversion the PM’s House into a university. “They speak about the poor but are really worried to see them in the Governor House,” he said.

He also lashed at those opposing the announcement to granting citizenship right to Bengali and Afghan refugees. “PPP should decide if it is a liberal or an ethnic party. Religion should not be a red zone in the country. We will have to erase the barriers between the people and the government,” he said.

The minister further said there would be no covert deals or agreements signed with any country, and it was delighting that a positive response was also being received from India. “Policies should be made not for votes but for the future of the nation,” he said, adding that the statement of the PM was being made controversial unnecessarily.

He said that the government wanted to bring refugees in the national mainstream and the opposition should suggest policies in this regard. He said that Imran Khan had always spoken about dialogue with Afghanistan. “The Pashtuns in Afghanistan are not looking towards Kabul for a solution. If there will be peace, then two big markets, India and China, will be near to us.”

Published in Daily Times, September 21^st 2018.