ISLAMABAD/JEDDAH, 4 August — Exiled former Premier Nawaz Sharif bowed out of Pakistan’s October elections yesterday, handing the reins of his party to his younger brother and making matters easier for President Pervez Musharraf.
The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) voted to appoint Shahbaz Sharif its new president, having consulted with Nawaz, who lives in exile in Saudi Arabia with his family.
While absent from his country since 2000, his decision not to run for Parliament and risk arrest by returning before the poll denies his party a powerful rallying point and symbol of defiance to Musharraf.
In Jeddah, a source close to Sharif told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, that the time was not yet ripe for the former premier to return to his country. He denied any direct or indirect contact between Sharif and the present government in Islamabad.
“The time for return, even for Shahbaz, has not been decided yet. It will depend on the preparations for taking such a step,” the source told Asharq Al-Awsat. “The deciding factor in this matter will be the party’s supporters, not the government,” the source pointed out.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the present situation in Pakistan was not suitable for Sharif’s family to return. “The coming days will decide a suitable date for their return,” he said, and linked the return to the country’s stability and its need for the services of a major party leader. “Sharif and his family will definitely return to Pakistan because it’s their country and he has supporters who are awaiting his return,” the source added.
PML’s Vice President Tehmina Daultana said in Islamabad that Shahbaz “will be returning to Pakistan in time for the election.”
Nawaz Sharif and fellow former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto are barred from the election on at least two counts. Both have convictions still outstanding against them and both have been prime minister twice, making them ineligible under a new Musharraf decree banning anyone from ruling for a third term. Ms. Bhutto said she still intends to fly to Pakistan, although police have threatened to arrest her if she does.
But the official retirement of the PML leader removes at least one of Musharraf’s archrivals. He deposed Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 before sending him into exile.
Shahbaz insisted that he would not be a stooge to the military ruler when he returned, and said it was possible he would be detained by authorities on arrival. “I really want to return, but that doesn’t mean I wish to compromise the party’s and my family’s standpoints and interests,” he told The News newspaper this week.
