Arrest of Nawaz
ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister Rana Sanaullah responded on Tuesday to the comments made by the current caretaker interior minister Sarfraz Bugti. Bugti had suggested that Nawaz Sharif would be arrested, if the court did not grant him bail upon his return.
Nawaz Sharif went to London with the court’s approval for medical treatment in November 2019. The Lahore High Court suspended his sentence in a corruption case. PML-N supremo has been living in London since November 2019.
Interior Minister’s remarks about arrest of Nawaz Sharif irritate PML-N leaders.
However, elder Sharif has decided to return to Pakistan on October 21 to lead his party in the upcoming elections.
Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said on a TV channel that if Nawaz Sharif was not granted bail, authorities would apprehend him at the airport. Bugti referred to Nawaz’s return to Pakistan in 2018 when he and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, were arrested at Lahore airport upon their arrival from London.
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah criticized the minister for making such a statement. He asserted that Bugti had overstepped his bounds. Sanaullah mentioned the fate of former interior minister Sheikh Rashid and suggested that Bugti should exercise caution before issuing such remarks.
Sanaullah emphasized that it would be the people who decide where Nawaz Sharif goes upon his arrival on October 21, not the interior minister.
Furthermore, PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb warned the interior minister against making such statements. She advised Bugti to speak in accordance with his political stature. Marriyum asserted that the decision about Nawaz Sharif’s destination after his return was not within Bugti’s purview.
Interior Minister Bugti takes back his remarks
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti clarified on Tuesday that his earlier statement regarding Nawaz Sharif’s return had been “taken out of context.”
On Tuesday, Bugti explained that his comments had been misconstrued. He said that Nawaz Sharif would be treated in accordance with the law.
He also acknowledged it as a positive development that Nawaz was reentering politics.
