ISLAMABAD, July 2: Chief of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) Nawaz Sharif and his wife Kulsoom Nawaz have formally requested the government to issue them passports, says party’s Information Secretary Siddiqul Farooq.

He told Dawn on Saturday that Mr Sharif’s son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar had submitted the applications in this regard to the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

The PML-N leader said earlier the government used to say it was not issuing passport to Mr Sharif as he had not formally applied for it. He added now when Mr Sharif and his wife had formally applied, the government would have no excuse to deny them passports.

When asked about reports that Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah was involved in efforts for a rapprochement between President Musharraf and the Sharifs, Mr Farooq said ‘he would not deny it.’

He said Mr Sharif was expected to return to the country by the end of this year and added it would not be part of any deal and there would be no compromise on the struggle for restoration of democracy in the country.

There are reports that President Gen Pervez Musharraf during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia had held a discussion with the Saudi authorities on the issue of Mr Sharif’s return. There was no official denial or confirmation from the government.