Sharif exiled to Saudi Arabia

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, DEC. 10. In a day of swift and unbelievable developments, the military Government in Pakistan pardoned the former Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, for all his ``omissions and commissions'' and packed him off on an exile to Saudi Arabia along with 17 of his close family members.

Mr. Sharif reached Jeddah in a Saudi aeroplane that took off from the military airport in Islamabad at 10.54 a.m. (11.26 IST). The Sharif clan is expected to move to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after medical tests for his heart trouble, as part of the deal brokered by the Saudi Royal family with the Musharraf regime.

The exile of Mr. Sharif has taken every one by surprise. Such was the speed of developments after 2 a.m. on Sunday that Pakistani papers simply could not keep pace and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) leaders are shell-shocked.

Hours before the departure, Ms. Kulsoom Nawaz, Mr. Sharif's wife, insisted that they were not fleeing the country but were sent into exile. ``Those who have put my husband behind the bars have forced us to leave the country. We have not sought any pardon from the Government.''

A Government press statement issued early on Sunday insisted that the clemency has been granted on specific request of the family and the readiness expressed by Saudi Arabia to allow the family to take shelter in the country. ``Over the past few months Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his family had been appealing to the Chief Executive and the President of Pakistan for clemency. They had also filed a petition requesting for the waiver of punishment awarded by the Sindh High Court in the aircraft case and the accountability court in the helicopter case... Recently, Pakistan's closest friend Saudi Arabia offered the Government of Pakistan to accept the Sharif family for medical treatment on humanitarian grounds if exiled to their country,'' the announcement said.

Among those who have accompanied Mr. Sharif include Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, his brother and former Chief Minister of Punjab who was also in jail on corruption charges. His wife, mother and father are part of the 17-member team.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : NDA swears by secular agenda
Next     : Red alert in U.P. districts