ISLAMABAD: A senior military official tried to convince former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to flee from Prime Minister House on a helicopter in August 2014 when rioters led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehrik leader Tahir-ul-Qadri laid a siege of the official residence, revealed Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who is a former adviser and a close aide of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supreme leader.
“Prime minister Sharif, however, refused to listen to the military official and asked him to sit beside him in the office of prime minister and enjoy a cup of tea,” said Irfan Siddiqui in a recently published column in Daily Duniya News.
Siddiqui said that Nawaz was sitting in his office of Prime Minister House along with him and another PML-N leader and then-minister Lt General (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch. The rioters have laid siege to the prime minister’s residence. They had full control over the front and the back gates of the residence.
Suddenly the military secretary to the prime minister, Brigadier Akmal (who later on retired as a major general), barged into the office and announced they were surrounded on all sides by the rioters and there was no escape apart from the path that leads to the helipad.
“The military secretary announced that the riots are in a rage and they might be in possession of weapons, they would enter the Prime Minister House at any time. They are in control of all exits and entrances. Only one route is open and that leads to the helipad. He said that he had summoned helicopters and we should make good our escape” Irfan Siddiqui wrote in his column.
Lt General (r) Baloch, who was sitting beside the former premier, was angry and started murmuring in anger. But Nawaz directed him to remain quiet.
“What should we do?” the prime minister asked the military secretary. The military secretary repeated his early assertions that there was no time to waste and they should escape the situation by flying out of the Prime Minister in a helicopter” said Irfan Siddiqui.
“In response, prime minister Sharif responded very calmly, let the rioter come in, let them capture the seat of prime minister, if prime ministers are to be made like this in this country then let it happen. I am not going anywhere” Siddiqui narrated in his column.
“Then prime minister Sharif told a visibly confused and astonished military secretary, who was standing in the center of the room, he should also sit down and enjoy tea”.
In his column, Siddiqui writes that this was the moment when Qadri was announcing from his container in the Red Zone that they have captured Prime Minister House. Siddiqui wrote that these were the dharnas during which prime minister Sharif was woken up at midnight and was asked to resign and quit if he wants to remain safe.
“Events and happenings like these deprive the country of its political stability forcing the World Bank to place Pakistan on number 189 out of 195 countries on the list of political stability around the world. Only countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya Yemen and Afghanistan come after us” said Siddiqui.
