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.
What about Musharraf’s promises to take off his uniform? Or since he is the ruler, he is not supposed to make good on his promises.
@Wasim Arif
Spare me the literate / illiterate argument that we are not ready for democracy. The country has so far been ruled only by the military and literati. They are the ones responsible for bringing the country to where it is now. Don’t blame the illiterates. At least they go out and vote unlike the literate population who just keeps on writing on blogs and believes that since they have amassed degrees, their vote somehow carries more vote than the illiterate who is living next door.
This is what Quaid said more than 60 years ago and going through the blogs and posts, its as true as it was then
” Corruption is a curse in India and amongst Muslims, especially the so-called educated and intelligentsia. Unfortunately, it is this class that is selfish and morally and intellectually corrupt. No doubt this disease is common, but amongst this particular class of Muslims it is rampant.” (M.A.Jinnah to Ispahani, 6 May 1945)
Saleem Toor:
Dialogue with fanatics and habitual offenders is futile. These groups you mentioned, Bugti, Lal Masjid, Waziristan Taliban are all violent people who have repeatedly broken agreements and commited crimes against the people of Pakistan. Army is doing its job in combating them.
Nawaz Sharif is also a criminal and a liar. He got out of jail by signing an agreement to stay in exile for 10 years, HE NEEDS TO FULFILL HIS PART OF THE AGREEMENT.
Nawaz was shown mercy by Musharraf and Nawaz took unfair advantage of it.
@ saleem,
I have commented on the missing persons issue – it is condemnable, and the legal battle should be continued till the innocent ones are provided due process, or whatever passes for that in Pakistan.
Lets not forget that these “brethren” you talk about are engaged in carrying out cross border attacks on another countries troops, they are involved in bombing businesses, civilians and security personnel. Almost every day there are reports of some music store bombed, some person beheaded.
These people may be your brethren, but not mine. Calling yourself a Muslim, Pakistani, Pashtun, Punjabi or whatever does not make me accord you respect – that is earned by your conduct. The militants in FATA have shown non that is civilized.
The fact that the situation has goten to this point is because of people who cry foul about “killing our own brethren” and “Muslim killing Muslims” – it has gotten to this point becasue people have glossed over their activities in the “name of Islam.
The government would have been criticized if it had acted earlier, and it is being criticized now. And people will keep crying about “brethren” until these people kill one of their loved ones.
News reports suggest Nawaz Sharif went back to Pakistan without thinking too much about the details of the imminent confrontation (for example, when asked to hand over his passport, he and his colleagues did not have a pre-planned strategy to cope with the situation; the entourage was not prepared for how much pushing and shoving it was ready to take, and where to draw the line).
Most importantly, Nawaz Sharif picked up the wrong city to land in to. Not sure why he did not go straight to Lahore, his power base. In Lahore, it could very well be a completely different story. Imagine hundreds of thousands of NS supporters gathering in and around the airport; imagine PML-N local leaders preemptively threatening officials who would be found responsible for turning back NS, etc.
A suit for the contempt of court (in not letting NS in) has already been filed. Let’s see what comes out of that.
@BitterTruth
I think your perception of the Pak Army’s message to the ordinary citizens and the SC is esentially valid. Allow me to point out that part of the reason for feeling let down is with us and the media (I include blogs in this as well). Since the July 20 judgement, we have all been feeling a little too euphoric and omnipotent.
I have been trying to tell (in vain) anyone willing to listen that this battle is not won by a long shot. Only the gates have been opened for the civil society … the long, arduous trek is still ahead of us. Let us stop acting as if we are at the top already, flag implanted and all, and the peak has been conquered .
Both the civil society as well as the judiciary still have many more battles to fight and win in order to establish their supermacy.
What happened today is a setback; how the civil society and the judiciary — moreover the political parties — react to it is critical. With regard to the latter, all eyes are on the PPPP. Whether they resort to apportioning blame for the fiasco, or stand up for what is right (regardless of the political differences) is crucial to their own standing, as well as to the interest of Pakistan. It is a tall order, for it is not just the people of Pakistan; Uncle Sam is also watching …