In a dramatic development today, former prime minister and exiled PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif has been deported to Saudi Arabia. Sharif, who announced his return to Pakistan earlier this month after seven years of exile, was sent back to Saudi Arabia just few hours after his arrival in Pakistan.
He spent around 4 hours at airport, negotiating with Saudi and Pakistani officials. Deportation was certainly one of the options that Government of Pakistan had but not many analysts believed that they would actually go ahead with it. Till the last minute, it appeared from electronic media coverage of the event that Nawaz Sharif will be arrested and jailed and even the arrest warrants were produced and charges were handed over to Nawaz Sharif. We saw visuals of his arrest in which he was man-handled by police officials. But then we heard in a dramatic manner that he is being sent back to Saudi Arabia in a special PIA flight. Now we will see another legal battle if this action is a contempt of Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict on Nawaz Sharif’s return in August.
Geo website has this report on the event:
Former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif was sent back into exile Monday. According to reports he has been sent to Saudi Arabia in a special airplane. Earlier, the flight of former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif was landed at Islamabad Airport at the scheduled time of 8:42 am Monday morning. The military and security forces troops were deployed at Islamabad airport. In Islamabad, Police and PML-N workers were engaged in hide and seek and scuffles at various places.
Media men were restricted to parking lot of the airport as the airplane of former prime minister landed at the airport. The interior ministry officials and other top officials of the government were present at the airport on the occasion. Mian Nawaz Sharif traveled in the Club Class from London to Islamabad and before landing at Islamabad he went to the economy class to join the party workers.
Geo News correspondent Azhar Javed who was accompanied with Nawaz Sharif in air journey to Islamabad reported that Muslim League workers surrounded their leader and chanted slogans. Mian Nawaz Sharif later taken out of the airplane from backdoor. A flying coach was parked near the plane, which was cordoned off by the police commandoes, Azhar Javed reported. The former prime minister left the plane after 90 minutes and held talks with the government of Pakistan officials and Saudi government representatives. The matter of his returning back into exile to Saudi Arabia was also discussed but Nawaz Sharif opted to be arrested at home instead of going back into exile.
Later he was detained and sent back to Jeddah by a special airplane.
This entire episode raises many questions in the minds of ordinary Pakistanis. Is this violation of SC order? Why didn’t government just arrest him and put him on trial, if there are any cases against him? What will happen now in court and does this mean that government is going ahead with direct confrontation with superior courts? And what it would mean to already growing confrontation between Army and the civil society? We really don’t know. All we can hope, as an ordinary Pakistani, that may Allah have mercy on Pakistan. I am NO fan of Nawaz, Benazir or most of our politicians because of their past performances but I would rather see people of Pakistan deciding their fate through power of ballet and vote and NOT some individuals sitting in President’s House making decisions. I do not see anything good coming out today’s actions and I think its a big setback to rule of law.
One of ATP reader, Saleem A. Taimoor, made a very valid and appropriate comment on my earlier post on Nawaz Sharif return and I personally share his views. Situation in Pakistan today concludes following:
1. Army has been put in direct confrontation with the civil society.
2. People hate to see green lawns and swimming pools inside the army cantonments as well Mercedes for generals on the streets; where over 40% of the people can’t have one day meal, this new elite is eating up all resources - look at the Defense Housing Authorities, posh livnig styles of the army officers and their families, best schools and hospitals run at Income tax payers money; hate has gone deep within the masses for the army not for the general alone. Musharraf has pulled the army in this quagmire.
3. Tens (if not hundreds) of soldiers have died in armed clashes with civilians and in bomb blasts.
4. Media and the judiciary are being put to test with oppressive measures.
5. Government is ready to take on the judiciary now (starting with today’s deportation of Nawaz). Executive is not ready to obey the judiciary.
6. Youth is getting disconnected with Pakistan - all running around for safe havens abroad or for grabbing too much money to join the elite - the social fabric is quickly disintegrating.
7. The parliament is full of people who are unable to comprehend the social disintegration we are going through.
I am sure there are thousands of others who share the same views. Whether you like or dislike Nawaz Sharif or Benazir, both of them should be free to return to this country and allowed to face any charges against them. It is the people of Pakistan who should decide who they want to elect as their representatives and not some army generals who decide our fate in the name of national security. We want Pakistan to be a Social Welfare State and which was the dream of its founding fathers and NOT a National Security State which, unfortunately, it has become now.
As Adnan Siddiqi rightly pointed out in his blog post, there is a sad and brutal side of this story too. Nawaz Sharif landed, arrested and deported. Musharraf stayed in his office while Nawaz either stayed in plane or in lounge then forced to go back to Saudia. All were having fun time. Who suffered then?See yourself?
May Allah have mercy on Pakistan and its 160 million citizens and give our rulers wisdom to make the right decisions. Ameen.
Aamir Ali,
If Musharraf is such a righteous person and interested in bringing the corrupt to justice, why is he making a deal with BB allegedly the more corrupt of the two.
And if NS is a criminal, why not take justice take its course rather than resorting to extrajudicial and extraconstitutional measures.
I still can’t get over the fact that Mush could get such blatant involvement of third countries in our internal matters. Its a open secret that he takes his dictations from US (on record regarding Colin Powell, Richard Armitage, Condi Rice) but such licking of their soles (Richard Boucher) - only two people are capable of this in present times. The two who are willing to stoop to any level to keep or get the chair - BB and Mush.
I think Musharaff did absolutely the right thing in deporting that corrupt and slimy Nawaz Sharif to saudi.
where were all you “defenders of law and constitution” during 11 long years in the 90’s when Sharif and Bhutto were on the rampage in Pakistan?
Did Sharif not assault the Supreme Court? Did Sharif not hijack Musharraf’s airliners? Did Bhutto not engage in total corruption?
Pakistanis will avoid the main issues and make a huge fuss over minor ones just so they can criticize “government”.
Can any body differentiate between our country or Bara (where each buffalo is the KING) …… NO BODY
- Thnx to rulers, now saudi’s can interfere also on behalf of MAI BAAP SAM
- Thnx to rulers, no one will respect the court hearings
- Thnx to rulers, the suffering people of RWP/ISB and largely whole punjab suffered due 24 hours blockade of all leading roads.
- Thnx to rulers, who were so much afraid of an individual that they make the life of normal public miserable
- Thnx to rulers, who have left new standards for others
- Thnx to rulers, today i felt that i should better think of immigration… ……..
Benazir doesn’t deserve our hate, just our contempt. After all she just wants to be another Nuri al-Maliki or Hamid Karzai. How sorry I feel for other members of her party, especially the workers.
This makes me wonder, wots more important, the law of the land or the undertaking with a foreign country? n this time this foreign country is saudi, wot if next time its USA or India? n in place of Nawaz Sharif, there’s some criminal (say accused of treason)?
A few things to bear in mind:
1. Pakistan is formally a democratic republic and was always meant to be. Otherwise the reasons for its very foundation become nonsensical, and its future more of the same - a population with its massive potential wasted and a rapid and ongoing loss of sovereignty.
2. As a republic it has a constitution which cannot be overturned under any circumstances, except through proper constitutional procedures (e.g. 1973 Constitution, or through ammendments, etc.) or in a popular revolution setting up a new “founding”, which then in turn will set up a new constitution.
3. Any direct military involvement in politics is unconstitutional and any coup d’etat illegal and illegitimate. Thus any actions that flow after this initial act are also illegal and unconstitutional, including any so-called “agreement.”
4. Politicians, no matter how corrupt and hypocritcal, cannot be dealt with through extraconstitutional, extra-legal means.
5. Shame on those who support an equally, if not more corrupt, hypocritcal, cowardly military and its illegal and illegitimate actions.
6. The U.S., totalitarian Saudi Arabia, and the Pakistani military will only be happy once Pakistan has been turned into another Egypt - i.e. impoverished, perpetually dependent on foreign handouts, and forced to serve others’ national interests rather than its own.
Mush has shown lust of power. He is pushing himself in a cornor, where for the sake of pakistan, someone might have to remove him from power. I think we have tolerated one person rule for too long, in our land of the pure. It is about time that we mobilize on the street against dictatorship.
If history is any guide , dictatorship usually have a bitter end, and usually end via popular movements.
So true is the fact rightly pointed out about the growing hatred for the continued ‘civilization’ of pakistan army. We have ex-army personal in every civil department. We have ex-generals as governors. What the hell is wrong with pakistani military don’t they want a progressive ( not bloody enlightened moderatation - ) democrative pakistan.
I am not for nawaz, benazir ( which I hate with a passion ) or any other political worker. I am for the rule of law, respect for pakistani citizans.
I hate to admit that people in other contries give more respect to pakistanis than people in pakistan. Go to any pakistani embassy and see for yourself the treatment you get there.
We need justice, civil rights and respect : Is this too much to ask? We never fought for these right in the 60 year odd history of pakistan. We always fought for people ( like nawaz in this case). We never fought for system we always fought for pawns who control the system.
I think we need true leadership ( not zealots). I know I have wandered around alot in this post :)