LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said that an agreement might be “cooking” in the country.
“No one knows what is cooking. There are a couple of rumours surrounding the Sharifs’ visit to Saudi Arabia,” he said while talking to reporters.
Rumour mill has it that the motive behind the visits could be to negotiate a deal or to save their assets, Zardari added.
The former president, however, added that “we respect Saudi Arabia, it is our brotherly state” but added that Pakistan shouldn’t take directives from them.
“At least our government did not,” he said.
The Sharif brothers’ multiple visits to Saudi Arabia have resulted in criticism by opposition parties.
PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have questioned the reasons behind the visit.
Earlier in the day, PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan claimed that former premier Nawaz Sharif and brother Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif are undergoing a “conflict”, explaining that Nawaz is fearful of the latter meeting with senior Saudi officials.
Talking to the media, the PPP leader said that Nawaz did not go to Saudi Arabia on the Kingdom’s invitation.
“Shehbaz must have called him, and told him he was meeting senior [Saudi] officials. So Nawaz panicked and travelled to Saudi Arabia,” the PPP leader conjectured.
However, PML-N leaders have refuted the allegations, saying that Nawaz has had longstanding ties with the Saudis.
On Sunday, Nawaz’s spokesman condemned as “baseless” reports that the PML-N chief is in contact with Saudi Arabia to escape accountability. He said that Nawaz accepted court verdicts and is facing cases.
