Saudis chide Sharif for planning Pakistan return

SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia, once the home in exile of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, chided him for planning to return to his country and challenge President Pervez Musharraf.

“Wisdom dictates that Mr Nawaz Sharif abide by his promises not to return to Pakistan and to political activity,” said an unnamed spokesman quoted by the state SPA news agency.

The spokesman denied what he said were claims in some Pakistani newspapers that Riyadh “supports” the return of Sharif and his family to Pakistan.

He said the kingdom had offered Sharif asylum for humanitarian considerations, which the Pakistani government and Musharraf had responded to positively.

Meanwhile, Pakistani police have rounded up around 50 supporters of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ahead of his planned return to the country next week, officials said.

The activists from Sharif’s faction of the Pakistan Muslim League party were detained in Punjab province, Pakistan’s most populous area and the base for the ex-premier’s support.

“Around 50 of our workers have been rounded up from their homes and from party offices in several cities in Punjab,” party chairman Raja Zafarul-Haq told AFP.

“The government is nervous about the return of Nawaz Sharif and they want to sabotage the reception he is going to get when he returns, but they cannot dent our commitment to our leader,” he added.

Pakistani authorities confirmed that there had been a number of arrests from Sharif’s party but would not give specific numbers.

“We have rounded up a few people because they are potential troublemakers who were instigating violence in their speeches,” a government official said on condition of anonymity.

“It is not a general crackdown. It is specific to those who may create a serious law and order situation.”

Earlier Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that former Premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif may not be allowed to contest the upcoming general elections.

“They may be constitutionally barred from contesting elections if they return from exile,” Mr Aziz said in an interview here. “There are legal complications and it will be up to them to decide what their future ought to be. It will be better for Pakistan that they come back after the elections so that the current environment doesn’t get destabilised,” said Mr Aziz, who hopes to continue his job after the elections.

Mr Aziz said former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s demands “require changes in the Constitution that cannot be the subject of political arrangement. There are several court cases pending against her and the discussions have been on finding a way out on settling these issues through the legal process,” he added.

Meanwhile Pakistan President Musharraf and Bhutto have restarted talks to end the deadlock in the negotiations for a power-sharing deal, political sources said.

“Talks are on again. The talks in Dubai between an aide of Gen. Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto have been positive. The two sides are now ready to give and take,” a senior government official told this newspaper on Tuesday. He said Mr Tariq Aziz, a close aide of Gen. Musharraf, met Ms Benazir Bhutto in Dubai on Monday to carry the deal process forward.

“This might be a last-ditch effort to sort out the difficulties on the way to hammering out a deal,” he said, referring to the statements from the government and Ms Bhutto that the talks had failed.

Riyadh, Islamabad, Wednesday, AFP, Asian Age