LAHORE, Aug 24: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif says that Saudi Arabia should not be dragged into issues which it regards as sensitive.
Riyadh was the best friend of Islamabad and would support any decision that was in the interest of the latter, Mr Sharif said while talking to Dawn from London on Friday. He was asked if the kingdom had any role to play in preparing the ground for his return to Pakistan.
The PML-N leader said the Supreme Court had looked into the document presented by the government and its verdict on the matter had vindicated what he had been saying for long.
When asked whether he would come to Pakistan straight from London or via Saudi Arabia, as a section of the press has reported, Mr Sharif said: “So far we haven’t finalised our programme.”
He said the party’s central working committee was due to meet in Islamabad on Saturday, after which the All Parties Democratic Movement would be consulted. “We’ll take the APDM on board (on the subject).”
Mr Sharif was told that the media had reported three different things on various occasions: the Saudi rulers had recently sent him a message which pleased him; the Saudis were unhappy with him and the Saudis had distanced themselves from the whole issue after the Supreme Court verdict.
“We should stop involving the Saudis in sensitive matters. We should give up this habit.”Asked if he would move the court to seek an injunction that he should not be arrested on his return to Pakistan, the former prime minister said all issues would be looked into.
However, he hastened to add that he was not afraid of being arrested or implicated in false cases. “They can’t terrorise me through threats.”
The former prime minister said restoration of democracy, riddance from the army’s role in governance, independence of the judiciary and the supremacy of the Constitution were the major issues on the list of his priorities. He said a person pursuing such a sacred mission was left with little time to be bothered by the threats of arrest or fresh cases or whether the rulers would withdraw the remission in his sentence.
“We are far ahead of such petty things.”
Mr Sharif said such threats were being hurled by those who were left with no option at their disposal.
Answering a question, Mr Sharif said the ARD was now a defunct alliance, replaced by the APDM. He said the struggle for democracy would continue from the APDM platform.He said only two major parties -- the PML-N and the PPP -- constituted the ARD, while all major parties of the country were in the fold of the APDM.