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Islamabad: Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif insisted yesterday he will return to Pakistan despite pressure from Saudi Arabia and a key Lebanese politician to honour an agreement to remain in exile.
After a three-hour meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf and Lebanese lawmaker Sa'ad Hariri yesterday, Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz said Sharif should respect the accord made with Saudi authorities that he stay out of Pakistan for a decade. "We are hoping, we are really hoping, sincerely hoping, Nawaz Sharif honours this agreement [which was mediated by Saudi royalty and the Hariri family in 2000]," Muqrin told reporters.
However, the Sharif brothers have consistently denied signing any deal with Pakistani or Saudi governments.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abul Aziz was concerned about the "unity, stability and prosperity" of Pakistan, Muqrin said. But a spokesman for Sharif said his leader had told him by telephone that his mind was made up.
"He has reiterated that he will come on September 10. He just feels a little sad that the Saudis, for whom he has the highest respect, have appealed like this," spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said.
Hariri, son of assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hairi, said he had met Sharif in London and conveyed the Saudi concerns to him. "I will meet him again," he said.
"King Abdullah hopes that in the national interest of Pakistan all parties concerned with the agreement will honour and adhere to the terms of the agreement," Hariri said.
On the situation in Pakistan, Muqrin said: "We respect the verdict of the Pakistani Supreme Court and the people of Pakistan. But it is our firm belief that his [Sharif's] return would affect the stability of Pakistan."
The Pakistan court in August ruled that it was an "inalienable" fundamental right of Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz to return to the country.
Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) ruled out any change in the brothers' plan to fly back home tomorrow from London. After landing at the Islamabad international airport, they would proceed to their hometown Lahore, capital of Punjab province, by road.
"He is returning under the verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan," PML-N Central Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said, wondering why Musharraf was afraid of their leader.
Acting PML-N president Javed Hashemi said the Sharif brothers would definitely stick to their schedule and the party would approach courts if the authorities arrested them. Shahbaz told a private channel from London that they would not change their decision to return to the country.
- With additional inputs from Wajid Ali Wajid, Correspondent
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