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Islamabad: Exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has rejected Saad Hariri's request to abide by the agreement with the Musharraf regime not to return to the country within a period of ten years.
According to private television news channel Geo, Sharif confirmed that he had met with Saad Hariri but refused further comment.
Saad Hariri, son of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, who is considered one of the guarantors of the original agreement between the Sharif brothers and the government, met with Nawaz Sharif this week in Scotland and apparently urged him to abide by the agreement that they would not return to Pakistan for a decade.
The younger Sharif, Shahbaz, however, was more forthcoming in conversation with Geo News.
Defining moment
"We have family relations with the Hariri family and they have done a lot for us but this is defining moment for Pakistan and we can't sit back and watch. People of Pakistan want Nawaz Sharif to play his role at this crucial time," Shahbaz said yesterday.
Rafik Hariri is believed to be the person referred to as the gentleman in the understanding signed by Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif with the Musharraf government.
Nawaz Sharif, on his part, said he had been in touch with Hariri for seven years and that they had also met recently.
The former prime minister was at pains to request that foreign friends, including Saudi Arabia, not be dragged into Pakistani politics. He said he was looking to end his exile before the holy month of Ramadan.
A delegation of PML-N has, meanwhile, left for London to meet the Sharif brothers and to schedule their return before the start of Ramadan.
Although Nawaz Sharif himself has indicated his keenness to return in tow with his brother Shahbaz before Ramadan, political pundits in Islamabad are given to believe that he will prefer to send Shahbaz first to test the waters.
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