LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja says Nawaz Sharif and not the government has cancelled scheduled meeting of the incarcerated former prime minister with his visitors in the Kot Lakhpat jail here on Thursday.

Responding to the criticism of the opposition PML-N lawmakers that the government has denied certain party leaders’ access to Mr Sharif, he said in fact the N League supremo decided about who should see him on Thursdays, the day assigned for jail inmates’ meetings with their respective visitors.

Interestingly, Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, another N Leaguer in the House, endorsed the law minister by admitting that the ex-PM would okay the list of visitors allowed to meet him. He, however, said that the authorities humiliated party leaders and workers by keeping them stand in queues for prolonged period outside the jail. He said that workers would come from across the country to meet their Quaid on Thursday and lamented that the government denied them the opportunity.

PML-N MPA Hina Pervaiz But also raised the issue regretting that even mother of Nawaz Sharif and his personal physician Dr Adnan Khan were not allowed meeting.

Raja Basharat suggested the opposition benches to read jail manual. He said that ex-PM was meeting far more people than any other prisoner and was enjoying more facilities than any other inmate.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2019