ISLAMABAD: In an apparent bid to turn down the government’s tirade over the return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif has clarified that Nawaz had no plans to return to Pakistan in immediate future.
In a statement issued late Saturday, Shehbaz Sharif said that Nawaz Sharif might stay in the United Kingdom legally until the immigration tribunal rules on his appeal against the British Home Office’s rejection for extending his visa.
It is pertinent to note that as per the reports, the British Home Office has turned down Nawaz’s appeal for visa extension.
Shehbaz further stated that the incumbent government had allowed Nawaz Sharif to leave Pakistan for treatment on the basis of reports of its own medical board.
“It is inhuman to politicise the health of a three-time premier. The government machinery is bent upon defaming Sharif for political motives, which is earning a bad name to the country,” he stated.
Meanwhile, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz also took to her Twitter to state that the visa issue had again proved how her father was on the nerves of the Khan government members.
“This fake government has accepted its defeat from Nawaz Sharif who is the present and future of Pakistan. By targeting a towering personality, the stature of a pygmy cannot be elevated,” she tweeted.
PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb in this regard stated that it was a routine procedure for anyone seeking extension in their stay in the UK and Nawaz Sharif had the right to an appeal in the immigration tribunal.
“Even Imran Khan had verified all these facts after the inspection of doctors from his trusted Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital. The provincial and federal governments sent Nawaz Sharif abroad for treatment after fulfilling all legal requirements,” she said.
Nawaz Sharif’s health had deteriorated while being in the custody of NAB and the government, headed by Prime Minister Khan, insisted that medical reports and tribunals had said they could not treat his ailment in Pakistan.
She asserted that Nawaz would not seek political asylum in the UK, as he could legally stay there until a decision on his appeal by the British immigration tribunal.
It is pertinent to note that the Islamabad High Court declared Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender in December 2019 after he failed to appear before it after his conviction in Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia Steel Mills cases.
According to the legal experts, the coronavirus pandemic has caused a huge backlog of cases at the immigration tribunal and that Sharif’s case may take a year or more to get a verdict. Until such time, he is expected to stay in the UK.
PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said with conviction that the return of Nawaz Sharif was subject to approval by his doctors. “I categorically say Nawaz Sharif will return by next flight available once his doctors allow him to do so,” said Ahsan.
Earlier, Ayaz Sadiq, another PML-N stalwart, claimed that Nawaz Sharif was returning soon as the time of justice had arrived for him. Sadiq’s claim stirred the political scenario, as he has just got back home after meeting Nawaz Sharif in London.
Ahsan Iqbal clarified that the PML-N and masses, in general, believed that Nawaz Sharif would be exonerated once he got a fair trial.
“Everyone knows Nawaz Sharif was victimised in the name of accountability, where he was disqualified on Iqama (permit) in the Panama case,” Ahsan said.
Emphasizing that Nawaz Sharif’s stay in London was only for medical reasons, Ahsan said permission to go abroad for treatment was conditional with the government contacting the doctors of Nawaz Sharif through the high commission in London if it felt or found that he was misusing his stay in London, but the govt didn’t use this channel even once in these two years as they know that his ailment and treatment are of a serious nature.
