PPP, PTI slam Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia on special plane

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  • PPP’s Chaudhry Manzoor alleges Punjab CM went to Saudi Arabia to get another NRO

  • PTI’s Mehmoodur Rashid notes it’s strange Shehbaz preferred to go to KSA instead of calling Punjab Assembly session

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have slammed Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for holding important meetings.

PPP Central Information Secretary Chaudhry Manzoor alleged that Shehbaz went to Saudi Arabia for getting another National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to escape accountability process. He said, “Telling a lie is in the blood of Sharif brothers. Nawaz Sharif lied even while sitting in the Holy Kaaba, saying he had not signed a contract with former dictator Pervez Musharraf.”

Lambasting Punjab CM’s visit to the Gulf monarchy, he said, “Now, again a special jet came from Saudi Arabia to pick Shehbaz Sharif. He boarded the plane while telling a lie again and again. If Punjab CM had to perform Umrah, he would have gone on his personal plane—special jets come for Sharif brothers after they secured NRO in Saudi Arabia.”

Meanwhile, PTI leader Mehmoodur Rashid said it is strange that Shehbaz preferred to go to Saudi Arabia instead of calling a Punjab Assembly (PA) session. “The younger Sharif should have attended the PA session, briefing the house about Nawaz Sharif’s movement for justice, controversy regarding Khatam-e-Nabuwat, scandal involving companies, and Model Town incident in the wake of Justice Baqir Najfi report.”

He said the Sharif brothers are trying to find an escape and want to get NRO from Saudi Arabia to hide their corruption, but the PTI will not let them do so. “The Sharif brothers have made the country their personal fiefdom, and they think they are not answerable to anyone. The PTI, under the leadership of Imran Khan, would not allow them to escape accountability.”

PTI’s Central Punjab President Aleem Khan said it does not suit Shehbaz Sharif to go to Saudi Arabia on Saudi Arabia’s plane. “Instead of giving a reply to the nation for his misdeeds, he left for Saudi Arabia. He should have told the nation why he is going to the kingdom,” he said. “Punjab CM left for Saudi Arabia to get a pardon for his elder brother Nawaz Sharif; he will have to be accountable before the masses at any cost.”

PTI’s Chaudhry Sarwar also slammed Shehbaz’s visit to KSA. He said he wondered how can Punjab chief minister go on a foreign visit on a Saudi plane. His visit to KSA on a special Saudi jet raises many questions, he said, adding that whenever prime minister has a foreign tour, Shehbaz accompanies him.

“Is there no right of other provinces’ chief ministers to have a foreign visit with the prime minister,” he asked.

Earlier on Wednesday, Shehbaz left for Saudi Arabia on a special plane sent by the kingdom, where he is set to hold ‘important’ meetings besides performing Umrah.

It’s crucial to note that this is the first visit of Shehbaz to KSA after his nomination as the Pakistan Muslim League candidate-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for the next prime minister by former premier Nawaz.