ISLAMABAD - Dispelling the impression of some deal with Sharif family, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that neither any deal nor any laxity toward former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would be shown and their cases would be dealt with as per law of the land.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Fawad Chaudhry also refuted any pressure or request from some country for release of Nawaz Sharif, adding that judiciary in the country is independent and dealing the cases on merit.
About a question of recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia and rumours associated with it, the information minister once again dispelled these rumours. Responding to media persons’ questions, Fawad said that the government has no plans to remove the names of Nawaz Sharif and his other family members from the Exit Control List (ECL) and would take their cases to logical conclusion.
On the suspension of sentence of Nawaz Sharif and other family members by Islamabad High Court, he said that courts are independent while they would see and plug the lacunae in the case.
He said the government was most concerned about bringing back the alleged looted money by Sharif family and it was not interested whether Nawaz Sharif would remain behind the bars for two years or more.
To another question, he said those who knew Imran Khan were clear on the point that the incumbent government would not enter into some clandestine deal with Sharif family or anyone else who had looted and plundered the national wealth.
He further said efforts were afoot to bring back former finance minister Ishaq Dar and scions of Nawaz Sharif Hassan and Hussain Nawaz fugitive in the corruption cases, adding the recent agreement between Pakistan and United Kingdom on exchange of prisoners and repatriation of looted money would greatly help government make them cough out the looted money.
To another question, he grilled PML-N leadership and said that when the court verdict came in their favour they come out praising the judiciary and terming it a victory of justice but when some adverse order came against them they started hitting on the independence of judiciary.
Pointing toward government’s critics, Fawad said that now they must have realised why the Federal Cabinet had placed the names of Sharif family on ECL. Had the government not put them on ECL they might have flown out of Pakistan after the suspension of their sentence and subsequent release from jail.
He further said Nawaz Sharif would continue to ‘come out and get in the jail’ as a couple of other corruption references were also pending against him but for government the most important thing is to get back the looted money from them and bring it back to the country.
No deal, no concession to Nawaz: Fawad