ISLAMABAD, 19 August — The case of former Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, exiled in Saudi Arabia since December 2000, took an interesting turn here yesterday when the Punjab high court ordered the government to place before it the record relating to his future plans.
"The government must place on Tuesday records or deals, if any, about Shahbaz’s departure for Saudi Arabia along with Nawaz Sharif," the court said on a private petition. Shahbaz, it may be mentioned, had refused to accompany his brother when the Saudi government had intervened to save his life after the Pakistani government went into appeal to demand that life term awarded to former prime minister in a hijacking case which was later converted into death sentence.
Shahbaz was recently elected president of the Pakistan Muslim League which until earlier this month was headed by his elder brother, but the government said yesterday Shahbaz will not be allowed to return to Pakistan.
Lawyers said the court directed Deputy Attorney General Saeeduz Zafar to seek the details of "exile package" of the Sharif family and assist the court in ascertaining if Shahbaz had any role in the deal. Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani issued these directions on a writ petition filed by Gulzar Ahmed, a local PML-N official.
Gulzar’s counsel, A.K. Dogar, contended that the government was contemplating to block Shahbaz’s return to Pakistan. Dogar said the government’s intentions were obvious from the statements of the interior minister and other Cabinet members.
He said that Shahbaz, like any other citizen of Pakistan, had every right to return to his homeland. Dogar claimed that since there was no case against Shahbaz, there was no question of Shahbaz absconding a court of law.
He said that there had been a number of default cases against the Sharif family but they could not affect the political career of Shahbaz as he had resigned from the directorship of Ittefaq Group in 1989.
Dogar contended that he was pleading for the future prime minister of Pakistan and added that if the DAG had any proof regarding the exile deal, he should bring it on record. The judge directed the counsel to place the documents on record if he had any.
