RIYADH: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, joining his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and other officials in Riyadh today.
Sharif left for Saudi Arabia on a Saudi Airlines flight on Saturday evening and is expected to return on Jan 2, 2018, in time for his next court hearing.
The abrupt departure of Shehbaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia has triggered speculations about a possibility of another NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) for the Sharifs, at a time when elections are around the corner.
This was followed by the mysterious departure of PML-N lawmakers Khawaja Saad Rafique and Pervaiz Malik to Saudi Arabia – both are considered close aides of Nawaz Sharif.
Opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah had objected to the Sharifs’ Saudi visit.
“I feel sorry to see that foreigners are being involved in local matters. If Saudi Arabia intervenes for reconciliation between the Sharifs and the establishment it will be shameful that Pakistan, a nuclear power, cannot make its own decisions,” Shah had said.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan had said his party would launch a movement if the Sharifs were given any relief.
“If the Sharifs are given any relief after a deal we will be on the roads,” he had said.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Media Affairs Dr Musadik Malik had said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was not after an NRO.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif had also rejected the opposition’s charges, arguing that the Sharifs had spent eight long years in exile in Saudi Arabia and enjoyed good relations with the royal family.
Meanwhile, refuting the rumours regarding Shehbaz Sharif’s sojourn in Saudi Arabia, the most powerful minister of Shehbaz Sharif-led Punjab cabinet , Rana Sanaullah had said that the younger Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia did not carry any political motives as he went there just to resolve the problems that the Muslim Ummah were facing these days. The opposition was deliberately trying to create doubts regarding his visit, he had added.
According to media reports, the Sharif brothers are also expected to visit London after concluding their trip to the kingdom.
Meanwhile, informed sources in the federal government have said there is neither a secret deal between the PML-N and the establishment being considered nor the possibility of a ‘safe passage’ to the Sharif family in case of their conviction in corruption cases.
According to insiders, the fate of the ousted premier and his family is solely dependent on the accountability courts, which are hearing corruption references in line with Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.
As per informed sources in the federal government, reports suggesting a possible ‘NRO’ are based on assumptions.