Use all options to bring Nawaz Sharif back: PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday directed use of all legal means to bring former prime minister and PML-N Rahber Muhammad Nawaz Sharif back from the United Kingdom adding that it was the responsibility of the government to bring back all those wanted by the courts. 

He was chairing an important meeting, which also discussed the opposition’s strategy in the current political situation and the steps to be taken to bring Nawaz Sharif back.

Imran said the PML-N did politics on Sharif’s health and the government won’t be blackmailed by the opposition. “The focus of the opposition is not on national interest but on getting rid of the Sharifs cases,” he said.

The strategy regarding the approval of FATF laws in the National Assembly was also discussed during the meeting. The prime minister directed the spokespersons to effectively highlight improvement in the economic situation of the country and said the positive outcome of decisions related to the economy had begun to come.

“The focus is now on delivering the benefits of better economic indicators to the people,” he added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said Pakistan’s economy was on the right track with significant achievements in exports sector and foreign remittances. “This strong turnaround is a result of continuing recovery in exports, which rose 20pc compared to June 2020, and record remittances,” he said in a tweet.

“MashaAllah, Pakistan’s economy is on the right track,” Imran Khan said. He mentioned that the current account balance posted deficit of $613 million in July 2019 and a deficit of $100 million in June 2020.

In July 2020, current account balance swung upwards to a surplus of $424 million, he added. Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday said Pakistan’s current account balance had swung into a surplus of $424 million in July 2020 after posting adeficit of $100 million in last month. The current account balance improved by 244% in July as compared to the current account deficit of $613 million in the same month a year ago. This is the fourth monthly surplus since last October. Strong turnaround is due to a continued recovery in exports and record-high remittances, with support from several policy and administrative initiatives by SBP and government, it added.

In July, the oversees Pakistanis transferred record remittances worth of $2.768 billion in the corresponding month which is the highest ever amount for the country in a single month while in same month of last year the remittances were recorded at $2.028 billion.

According to the data, the Current Account Balance without official transfers also witnessed a surplus of $401 million in July as compared to the deficit of $716 million in same month of last year.

Balance of trade in goods plunged by 11.78 percent from $1.968 billion in July 2019 to $1.736 billion in July this year. Similarly, balance of trade in services also narrowed by 13.8 percent to $362 million compared to $420 million in July 2019.

As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the current account balance witnessed a surplus of 1.9 percent in the first month of current fiscal year as opposed to deficit of 2.8 percent in the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary Monday made it clear that his government would not offer any amnesty to any politician such as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif accused in corruption cases.

Talking to a private news channel, Fawad said that those convicted for corruption would not be allowed to go abroad until they would return back the looted national wealth and face the corruption cases pending in courts. “All efforts of escape from accountability will go in vain and the looters will be made to return the plundered wealth of this nation,” he said. “Imran Khan's government will not extend the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to anyone and would not compromise his vision of accountability", he added. “Nawaz Sharif will have to come back and face the law. If Nawaz Sharif is innocent, why he is running away from the laws and the courts. He should come back to the country and answer the allegations against him,” Fawad added.

He said the opposition's threatening to remove PM Imran's government is only to get relief over the ongoing process of accountability but now any attempt to blackmail the government won’t be tolerated. “If we stop accountability against all those looters and plunderers, the country will never become self-reliant,” he mentioned.

He further explained, Nawaz Sharif had gone to England on medical grounds and the permission was given by the court on human grounds so any political pressure on government on the issue of Nawaz Sharif's health would not be tolerated.

Talking to Geo News show 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath', Fawad Chaudhry said that bringing Nawaz back from London won't be that easy, adding that the MQM founder got a man killed in London but we could not expatriate him. He said Nawaz still has got option of plea bargain.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Railways Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed had also expressed government’s inability to bring Nawaz back, saying that they could not bring Shahbaz Sharif’s son Salman Shahbaz and son-in-law back.

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Saudis neither stopped oil supply nor asked to return loans: Qureshi

By Mariana Baabar

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Monday categorically said there were no tensions between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and all speculations in this regard had been conjured by the media.

“Saudi Arabia has neither asked Islamabad to return its loan nor has it suspended oil supply to Pakistan. The Kingdom has not changed its stance on Kashmir and we are on the same page as far as recognition of Israel is concerned,” he added.

Reports about strained bilateral ties had started when Qureshi in a television interview said if the Saudi-led OIC did not convene a special session of foreign ministers on Kashmir, then Pakistan was ready to look for other options.

He once again rejected reports that Saudi Arabia had demanded return of $1 billion loan. Responding to a question, he told a journalist, "Your question is based on an assumption. These are speculations. No decision like that was taken."

On a lighter vein, he added, "If you don't speculate, how will you run your shop? At the end of the day, you have to report something. We don't want your shop to close; it should be more vibrant and I will try to make it so, don't worry."

Qureshi said even on future relations with Israel, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were on one page and Pakistan was under no pressure to recognise Israel. "Prime Minister Imran Khan has given a clear statement on this in accordance withQuaid-i-Azam’s stance. We will not come under any international pressure,” he said.

“You can see that though they took some time, Saudi Arabia took a similar stance and I am sure most of the Muslim Ummah shares this position.” The foreign minister said bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia was not a new thing.

“It is people-centric, it’s not just between governments. So if I have a relationship with you, I will also have expectations. If we do not have any relationship, why would we have expectations? So, on Kashmir, Pakistanis have a clear stance and have expectations from our friends which we keep expressing and will continue to do so,” he added.

Qureshi said there was no change in the stance of Saudi Arabia on Kashmir. “There is no ambiguity but absolute clarity. I am telling you this clearly, there is no change in Saudi Arabia’s stance on Kashmir. And OIC’s stance is before you; now we have to decide how we will take this forward,” he said.

Giving details of his recent visit to Beijing, the foreign minister said Chinese President Xi Jinping was keen to visit Pakistan and his visit had provided him with an opportunity to discuss the visit.

“President Xi is very keen to come. Both sides understand that his visit will be of an extraordinary nature. For that, there is a need to understand the flux in the regional and international situation and also to prepare before his trip,” he explained.

Together with the Covid-19 situation and other developments, the coming days would confirm a date for the visit. Qureshi said India was also an important issue and discussions about the recent situation on the China-India border were held.

“I can tell you that I didn’t see any hesitation, China’s stance is very clear,” he said. The foreign minister shrugged aside a question asking how long the visiting Afghan Taliban will stay in Pakistan and who they would be meeting.

Qureshi said he would be meeting with them on Tuesday (today). However, he did not shed light on their meetings on Monday but said there were groups inside Afghanistan, which were trying to cause a rift.

Qureshi said Islamabad’s role was only to facilitate the peace process adding that it’s up to Afghans to decide the way forward. “The majority of Afghans believe the only way forward is through reconciliation but the decision to reconcile has to be taken by Afghans themselves,” Qureshi said.

At the outset, Qureshi went into great details about the recent joint statements by Kashmiri leaders in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) who had completely rejected the August 5 decision of the Delhi government, demanding that the Constitutional status of Kashmir should be reverted. “There is now a political, peaceful uprising inside IOJ&K where we see leaders like Farooq Abdullah who always sided with India now demanding rights for the people of Kashmir. This is a new phenomena and a new movement from the valley”, said Qureshi.

Even independent INGOs like the Crisis Group had said that a mass resistance movement had started in the valley. The Taliban delegation, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, reached Pakistan on Monday, as efforts appear to be ramping up to get negotiations underway with the Afghan government.

“The delegation will discuss with Pakistan’s leaders the recent developments in Afghan peace process as well as relaxation and facilitation of people’s movement and trade between the two neighboring countries,” tweeted Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman for the Taliban political office.

The visit comes a day after the Taliban chief announced a powerful negotiating team that includes nearly half of the Taliban leadership council and has the power to set agendas, decide strategy and even sign agreements with the Kabul government. That Taliban team is headed by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai.

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