PIND DADAN KHAN, Aug 29: President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had been asked by an ‘eminent personality’, who is a friend of Pakistan, to honour his commitment of not returning to the country before the end of 10 years of exile.

“Therefore, I also urge him to abide by the agreement,” the president told a gathering here while inaugurating a bridge linking Pind Dadan Khan with Mandi Bhauddin.

Without naming Nawaz Sharif, the president said: “He had entered into a written agreement with a ‘very eminent personality’, a great friend and well-wisher of Pakistan, and the said person has given him a message not to violate the agreement. And he should also show character and not violate the agreement.”

President Musharraf said: “He (Nawaz Sharif) himself had expressed his wish and desire to go abroad to avoid his life imprisonment. He was sentenced for life and pleaded the ‘eminent personality’ to save him and had gone abroad to avoid the imprisonment.”

He said that there was a need to improve the law and order situation before elections. He

said that in the election year it was vital for the nation to understand threats the country was facing and develop political and national reconciliation.—APP