By Xinhua
Islamabad : Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz Saturday urged former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to honour his exile agreement and not return to Pakistan before completing 10 years.
Vowing to end the current government of President General Pervez Musharraf, Nawaz Sharif, leader of opposition party Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), had announced his return to Pakistan on Sep 10 after the country’s Supreme Court ruling Aug 23 that he can return.
Prince Muqrin and Saad Hariri, the son of a former Lebanese prime minister, who has reportedly advised Nawaz Sharif not to return, Saturday met Musharraf to discuss about the situation arising from Sharif’s return.
The Pakistani government said that Saudi and Lebanese influential personalities were among those who had brokered a deal between Sharif and Musharraf in 2000 when Sharif was sent in to exile to Saudi Arabia to evade life imprisonment in Pakistan.
Officials said Sharif had agreed to remain abroad for ten years and not to take part in politics during that period.
However, Sharif denied he had any such agreement with the Pakistani government but said that he had an understanding with Saudi Arabia.
“With regard to the agreement with His Excellency Nawaz Sharif, I want to make it clear that such agreement was made to facilitate and ensure the stability of Pakistan,” Prince Muqrin told reporters after his meeting with President Musharraf in Rawalpindi, the garrison city close to Islamabad.
“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques helped the Sharif family to get out of imprisonment under such agreement,” the Prince said.
“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques hopes for the sake of the National Interest of Pakistan that all parties concerned with the agreement will honour adhere to the terms of the agreement,” he said in a written statement, distributed among reporters at the press conference.
The Pakistani government has re-opened corruption and other cases against Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif, also a politician, in a bid to stop him from returning to Pakistan.
An anti-terrorism court issued warrants for the arrest of Shahbaz Sharif in connection with the killing of five youth in 1989, when he was the Chief Minister of Punjab province.
Muqrin said that the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques considers the stability and security of Pakistan as the stability and security of Saudi Arabia.
“I have come to my second home Pakistan to meet His Excellency President Musharraf and to convey to H.E. President and the people of Pakistan our concern about the recent developments that may affect the stability of Pakistan,” the Prince said.
He hoped that the concerned parties would put the national interest and the stability of Pakistan above any personal interest.
“As we are all well aware of the challenges that are facing the Muslim Ummah in general and Pakistan in particular, there is a greater need of unity and wisdom,” he said.
An alleged joint action of opposition groups, who would receive Sharifs on Monday at the Islamabad Airport, warned the government of countrywide clashes if Sharifs were arrested on their return.
Sharif served twice as prime minister of Pakistan in 1990s and his government was dismissed by army chief Musharraf in 1999.
It is believed that Sharif’s return will further complicate the current pre-election situation in Pakistan and pose challenge to the Musharraf camp.