ISLAMABAD, February 11: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri regretted his previous move of “seeking pardon for Sharif family as his big mistake” while conversing with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
A day after PM Imran held a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Hariri in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the sidelines of World Government Summit, Fawad took to Twitter and said, “Prime Minister [Imran Khan] was telling Saad Al-Hariri that speculations of NRO for Nawaz Sharif are again making rounds in Pakistan.”
“At this, Saad Al-Hariri, who played a key role in seeking NRO for Nawaz Sharif from [former military dictator] Pervez Musharraf, told Imran Khan that seeking pardon for the Sharif family was his big mistake,” he added.
The minister went on to say, “Hariri also informed Imran Khan that Nawaz Sharif did not fulfill a single commitment and he was feeling ashamed of it.”
On September 8, 2007, during a press conference, Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, and Lebanese politician Saad Al-Hariri urged Nawaz Sharif not to return to Pakistan complying with the agreement.
The presser was made after a joint meeting of the duo with former president Gen Pervez Musharraf. Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan
Awadh Al-Asseri was also present during the meeting.
Hariri said he had played a key role in securing Nawaz’s release from jail in 2000 in exchange for his exile in Saudi Arabia as a guest of the Saudi Royal Family. He expressed the hope that Nawaz would honour his commitment and stay out of the country.
The Saudi intelligence chief was also inquired about the decision by Supreme Court that allowed Nawaz to return to his country; however, he replied: ‘We fully respect the Supreme Court and law of every land but you still have an agreement’.
Prince Muqrin and Hariri waived a copy of the agreement which according to them bound the former prime minister and his brother to avoid coming to Pakistan unless their 10-year exile period was over. -Agencies
