Sharif to return to Pak after Nov 15
Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N party is planning to delay his second return bid to Pakistan till after November 15, when a neutral caretaker government is expected to be in place to supervise the next year’s general election.
By PTI |
ISLAMABAD: Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N party is planning to delay his second return bid to Pakistan till after November 15, when a neutral caretaker government is expected to be in place to supervise the next year’s general election.
Mr Sharif, who was exiled after being ousted by General Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999, was deported back to Saudi Arabia within hours of landing here on September 10 despite a Supreme Court ruling that he could return to the country.
A final decision on Sharif’s return will be taken at a meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League (N)’s central working committee to be held shortly in London after the former Prime Minister arrives there from Saudi Arabia, party officials were quoted as saying by The Dawn.
The officials said the decision to delay Mr Sharif’s return till after November 15 was made in the wake of his deportation when he made an abortive attempt to land in Islamabad.
“The harsh response of the government, especially of chief minister Pervaiz Elahi, by arresting all important PML-N leaders and barricading all major highways in (Punjab) province to prevent activists from welcoming their leader in Islamabad shows that the incumbent dispensation is afraid of the return of Mr Sharif for his ability to shake the balance of power by making dents in the ruling PML,” the PML-N officials said.
Mr Sharif, who was exiled after being ousted by General Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999, was deported back to Saudi Arabia within hours of landing here on September 10 despite a Supreme Court ruling that he could return to the country.
A final decision on Sharif’s return will be taken at a meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League (N)’s central working committee to be held shortly in London after the former Prime Minister arrives there from Saudi Arabia, party officials were quoted as saying by The Dawn.
The officials said the decision to delay Mr Sharif’s return till after November 15 was made in the wake of his deportation when he made an abortive attempt to land in Islamabad.
“The harsh response of the government, especially of chief minister Pervaiz Elahi, by arresting all important PML-N leaders and barricading all major highways in (Punjab) province to prevent activists from welcoming their leader in Islamabad shows that the incumbent dispensation is afraid of the return of Mr Sharif for his ability to shake the balance of power by making dents in the ruling PML,” the PML-N officials said.
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