SUKKUR, June 13: There is no pressure from the Saudi Arabian government for repatriating the Sharif family, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said on Friday.

He was talking to journalists in the Kot Bullo village, near Pano Aqil, where he had gone to condole the death of Sibi DIG Aziz Bullo, who was recently killed in an armed attack.

The prime minister said that during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, President Gen Pervez Musharraf had not held any talk on the issue of the return of the family of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Referring to the warming up of the ties between Pakistan and India, he said relations between the two countries were improving, hinting at the possibility of a meeting between him and the Indian prime minister if events progressed at the same pace.

Mr Jamali said that initially, conditions had to be created for the summit by holding meetings at the foreign secretary level.

Urging the opposition to participate in the parliament’s budget session, he asked them not to indulge in negative tactics, saying that confrontation would not be beneficial for the democratic process.

Referring to the killings of 12 police recruits and a DIG in Balochistan, he said that some progress had been made and the accused allegedly involved in the killing of the DIG had been arrested and the vehicle used in the crime had also been recovered. He said that the Balochistan police had been asked to register cases against the culprits without any fear or favour.

Rejecting the theory that the two incidents were a part of a conspiracy to destabilize the government, he said: “When I do not conspire against anyone, why should anybody conspire against my government.”

Earlier, Mr Jamali condoled with Ilim Din Bullo, DCO, Jaferabad, brother of the slain Aziz Bullo, and announced a grant of Rs2 million as compensation for the bereaved family. He also announced the provision of government jobs to two sons of the slain DIG.