ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party Senator Rehman Malik said on Thursday that his party did not impose a travel ban on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf after his exit from power in 2008 but he still remained in the country.
Addressing a news conference here, Malik said that Musharraf’s name was placed on the exit control list by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government but he still fled the country.
“Musharraf was allowed to flee despite his name on ECL. Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister allowed him to leave the country as per the NRO (National Reconciliation Order) signed between both the parties,” he alleged.
He reminded that senior members of the PML-N had taken the oath as ministers, as part of PPP-PML-N coalition government, from Musharraf and it was an endorsement of his indemnity.
He said during the PPP-led government Musharaf was nominated in the Benazir Bhutto case by the court. He said if Musharraf was nominated by the government, he would not have been allowed to leave the country. He rejected the statement of Sharif about former president Asif Ali Zaradri and said that there was no truth in his claims.
He said that Sharif went in exile after signing a deal with Musharraf and before returning to Pakistan, he had signed another agreement of giving indemnity to Musharraf.
He said that Zardari neither had reached any agreement with Musharraf nor ever wanted him to escape the justice.
He said that Benazir Bhutto had rejected the draft of NRO at first sight and there was no truth that the PPP had struck any deal with Musharraf.
He said that Nawaz Sharif before returning to Pakistan after exile had reached a compromise with Musharraf through the Saudi government as guaranteed about indemnity to Musharraf.
He said Zardari had nothing to do with bargaining between Sharif and Musharraf. “Actually, indemnity to Musharraf was part of the bargaining between both Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf at the behest of Saudi government as guaranteed”, said Malik.
Senator Malik said that he was the witness when Benazir Bhutto refused to return to Pakistan without allowing Sharif to return to Pakistan. “Actually, Benazir Bhutto had brought him to Pakistan. Musharraf did not want Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return Pakistan,” he said.
He said: “By blaming Asif Ali Zardari for his own political mistakes and giving indemnity to Pervez Musharraf, Nawaz Sharif wants to vindicate himself. Blaming Asif Ali Zardari is mere a political statement of Nawaz Sharif who is actually surrounded by multiple crises currently in the courts of law,” he said.
Senator Malik said Benazir Bhutto had convinced Nawaz Sharif to take part in general election 2008 while he feared breaching of his agreement with Pervez Musharraf which he had made in the guarantee of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Senator Malik said that Saudi king sent Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz to Pakistan when Nawaz Sharif wanted to breach the bargaining with Musharraf.
He demanded US President Donald Trump nominate Sabika Shiekh for The Nobel Peace Prize and if it was not possible then other highest award should be announced for her in recognition of her sacrifice.
He said that Sabika Sheikh was the real daughter of the nation who represented Pakistan in the US. “She was an ambassador of peace and education. The (firing) incident (in the US school) shows that terrorists have no religion and terrorism has no boundaries so the US and Pakistan rather than blaming each other for extremism and terrorism should work together against the menace,” he said.
SHAFQAT ALI
