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Pakistani expats shocked at Sharif’s deportationPublished: Tuesday, 11 September, 2007, 01:36 AM Doha Time
By Sarmad Qazi
EXPRESSING dismay and shock at the deportation yesterday to Saudi Arabia of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, local Pakistani community members said it further highlighted the political uncertainty that prevailed back home.
The two-time prime minister who returned to Pakistan yesterday ending his seven-year exile, was arrested on corruption charges and put on a plane to the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah four hours after he touched down in Islamabad.
Adnan Butt, general manager of Adnan & Salman said: “This is against the spirit of democracy. Nawaz Sharif is a two-time prime minister and the leader of the popular party, the Muslim League. As in the case with most Third World leaders, he might be corrupt and crooked, but that simply doesn’t justify him being deported to a third country yet again by the military.”
Butt also cautioned against involving other sovereign nations in matters relating to Pakistan’s internal politics, pointing out that it further weakens the country’s already fragile political voice.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on August 23 allowed the exiled Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan “as it is the right of every citizen of the country” and instructed the authorities to “abstain from causing any obstruction in his return”.
Khubab Javed, associated with Satco International, expressed his shock at the news, but added: “Even though Nawaz Sharif’s deportation back to Saudi Arabia is not fair, he was under a moral obligation to stick with a supposedly 10-year exile agreement signed with the Saudi government.”
Khubab further argued that General Musharraf’s wish to get another 5-year term as president is not going to be welcomed by anybody in Pakistan, except by a chosen few who were given important positions in the current government.
Mohamed Aslam, assistant general manager of Al Tawaful Trading and Management, who hails from Karachi and has been witnessing the political turmoil in the country for some time, said he thought the multi-dimensional model of Pakistani politics are extremely complex and above any layman’s comprehension.
“The leader of one of the biggest political parties in Pakistan, Sharif, should have been given a chance to defend himself in a court of law, if there were cases pending against him - trumped up or otherwise.
“We are not a kingdom or a monarchy, and in fact one of the largest Muslim democracies in the world. Let the law take its own course in this situation, with no influence by the government, which itself seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 when Nawaz Sharif was the head of the government after democratically winning the general elections.”
Aslam, however, warned that once the masses are agitated and can no longer be contained, the situation might lead to a state of emergency or even martial law being imposed by the already beleaguered government.
Ali Gardezi, general manager of 5Peas Marketing, commented: “No doubt, as a passport holder of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif has every right to be in the country, but he was also under a moral obligation not to return after signing an ‘undertaking’ with a third country, leaders of whom gave their personal guarantee.”
Ali dismissed the notion put forward by Nawaz Sharif’s supporters that he signed the ‘agreement’ seven years ago under duress.
“If a two-term prime minister of a country with difficult borders and a volatile public cannot handle stress and work under pressure, then I don’t know who would,” he added.
Ali, however, opined that it is time the army goes back to barracks and performs its constitutional duty, with absolutely no power show and interference in the country’s politics.
Aleem Khan, who has been a government employee for the last 30 years, hails from Mian Nawaz Sharif’s power-base of Lahore. An avid supporter of Sharif and his party, Aleem expressed his resentment upon hearing the news of deportation.
“This is atrocious and ridiculous. The military government is hell-bent in retaining Musharraf as president for another 5-year term and has gone one step too far, by sending Sharif back to Saudi Arabia. Isn’t it a clear contempt of court? Besides, thousands of party workers’ arrest and massive road blocks vaguely exposed government’s stance that Nawaz Sharif is not a political figure of stature.”
Aleem blamed the US for controlling the internal politics of Pakistan.
“Washington’s interests lie with Musharraf being in power for a good period of time, and they even touted a ‘liberal-moderate-alliance’ between the military dictator and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. All that was done without taking into account the general feeling of the 160mn voices in Pakistan,” he added.
، اب خاموشی سے لوٹی ہوئی دولت پر مزے لوٹیں۔
