–Veteran journalist says Nawaz, Maryam may be allowed to live in London whereas Shehbaz, Hamza would stay in Pakistan
Veteran journalist and Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami on Monday said that Qatar may be able to broker a deal between the government and former premier Nawaz Sharif, thus securing his release.
Speaking on Channel 92’s programme ‘Ho Kya Raha Hai?’, Nizami said that Qatar is an old friend of Pakistan and was previously involved in securing Nawaz’s release when former military dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf arrested him following the 1999 coup.
“When Musharraf came into power and detained Sharif, the emir of Qatar was the first person to initiate the process for his release,” he said, adding that Saad Hariri, the incumbent prime minister of Lebanon also aided in this task.
He said that his sources have claimed that the recent visit of the emir was also connected to this task. “I have been told that the process has been completed by up to 80 to 90 per cent,” he said.
“Sources have claimed that Nawaz’s health is not stable and according to his daughter Maryam, he has already suffered a stroke thrice,” he said, adding that the emir of Qatar wants to pay the fine to secure his release so that he and his daughter can live in England while Shehbaz and Hamza will stay in Pakistan to run the party affairs.
He said that while Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to give no amnesty to Nawaz, there have been many instances where he did not keep his promises, so it is possible that he may release Nawaz due to international pressure.
“The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman once said something about a deal but he mentioned Shehbaz Sharif instead of Nawaz Sharif,” he added.
Talking about Qatar’s decision to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, he said that Qatar may invest another $7-8 billion later on.
