ISLAMABAD, Sept 11: Information and Broadcasting Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani has rejected as baseless reports that the United States played a part in sending former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to Saudi Arabia in order to help Pakistan People’s Party chief Benazir Bhutto’s in her efforts to reach a power-sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf.
Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, Mr Durrani said Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Mr Sharif were parties to an accord and the government had played its role only to meet an international obligation.
He evaded questions about the manner in which the former prime minister was sent abroad when the government claimed that he had no political following.
When asked why was the media kept away when warrants issued by the National Accountability Bureau were shown to the former prime minister and he was whisked away to board a Jeddah-bound plane, Mr Durrani insisted that Mr Sharif had opted to return to Saudi Arabia instead of facing imprisonment.
Responding to a question, he said that while the detention of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leaders in Punjab and elsewhere was a provincial subject, those held by federal agencies would not be kept in detention even for a day more than the needed.
He insisted that the dialogue with the PPP chairperson was under way successfully and would continue.
He said those protesting against Mr Sharif’s deportation should resort to legal action if they felt there had been any foul play.
He said that unless anything was proved as contempt of court it would be futile to debate the issue and everyone should wait for the court’s decision.
Terming the All Parties’ Democratic Movement a ‘paper organisation’, Mr Durrani advised its leadership to avoid taking emotional decisions.
When asked about the announcement of Mr Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz about returning home soon and taking part in politics, Mr Durrani said: “Everyone will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”
Mr Durrani asserted that people at large had rejected the call of the PML-N and the APDM to ‘disrupt law and order’ because they understood that it was not in the interest of progress.
“The politics of holding meaningless public gatherings is over with the rejection of the APDM’s protest call and all the claims made by the alliance have fallen flat. Now the APDM leadership should desist from making hollow claims and present an election agenda to the masses as the electoral process has begun,” he said.
