By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : British High Commissioner to Pakistan Robert Brinkley Wednesday met former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at his residence in Lahore and told him that Britain had long been calling for a level-playing field for the January elections.
Brinkley welcomed the former prime minister, who also heads Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), back to Pakistan. Sharif returned from exile in Saudi Arabia to Lahore Sunday.
A statement by the British High Commission said the envoy welcomed the setting of a date and timetable for the elections, and President Pervez Musharraf’s assurance to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week that he hoped to lift the state of emergency beforehand.
A PML-N leader said Sharif made it clear to the British envoy that the party will not participate in the Jan 8 polls if emergency was not lifted by Friday.
The high commissioner told Sharif that Britain was encouraged by Musharraf’s step to quit as army chief Wednesday.
Brinkley also said Britain continued to call on Musharraf to release all remaining political prisoners and lift curbs on the media.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Malik Abdul Qayyum told reporters that Musharraf would lift emergency “very soon” but did not give any timeframe.