• Terms decision a ‘mistake’, says no NRO given to ex-PM
• Vows not to give any concession to opposition leaders

ISLAMABAD: A year after ex-premier Nawaz Sharif’s departure for London on medical grounds, Prime Minister Imran Khan has termed the permission granted to him a “mistake” of his government disclosing that a royal had asked for it.

In an interview with ARY News late on Thursday night, the prime minister claimed he would have not allowed the opposition party’s supreme leader to leave if his medical reports had not suggested his treatment abroad. “I would have never allowed [Nawaz to leave] if medical opinion did not suggest that his life was in danger.”

Mr Khan, however, reiterated that he would not come under any pressure to give NRO-like (National Reconciliation Ordinance) concession to any opposition leader presently facing corruption references.

“A royal had asked the government to let Nawaz leave,” Mr Khan agreed to a query but refused to take the name citing diplomatic obligations. “They (Sharifs) do have connections abroad.

“But they (the royal) did not assert it, they said it in a very polite manner. It wasn’t like ‘if you don’t do this, this will happen’,” the prime minister explained, claiming that the request from the ‘unnamed king’ was not an issue for him. But he admitted that allowing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-M) supremo to leave Pakistan was a “mistake” and that his government “regretted” the decision.

The prime minister hinted that the government had to send him abroad as his medical reports suggested that the PML-N leader was severely ill.

The ex-PM was permitted to leave for London in November last year after he had been diagnosed with an immune system disorder. The leader of the main opposition party, who was convicted in a reference, is facing multiple National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references.

At a presser after the permission granted to the PML-N leader by the government, Law Minister Farogh Naseem in response to a Dawn query had expressed the fear that the opposition party leader might not return within four weeks of his departure, but explained that the permission given to him was based on court observation.

The PM in his interview said the federal cabinet had held a detailed discussion over the issue whether the government should let him leave on humanitarian grounds. “In fact the court had declared that the government would be responsible, if anything happens to Nawaz,” Mr Khan said.

He recalled that PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif had submitted indemnity bonds worth Rs7 billion, promising that his elder brother, Nawaz, would return to the country. “Now we feel embarrassed as he [Nawaz] has started doing politics [from London] as well and, when you see him, it seems like there is nothing [wrong] with him,” he added.

“We did not give any NRO. We tried our best to do what we could, but the medical opinion presented to us was that if we didn’t do anything, he [Nawaz] could die, that he might not even reach London. This is what we were told and after that we would have been held responsible. So after that we sent him in good faith,” the prime minister added.

Inquiry into medical reports?

Asked if he would order an inquiry into the allegation that he was presented with “fake reports” [by the Punjab government], PM Khan said he had been in contact with Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid — whom he described as a die-hard, visionary worker of the ruling PTI — at the time and she conveyed all medical opinions regarding Nawaz’s condition. He then added that infectious diseases expert Dr Faisal, however, had concluded that Nawaz’s platelets count did not pose much of a threat though some related diseases could lead to serious problems.

Mr Khan lamented that the country had suffered in the past, because “there have always been two laws, one for the powerful and the other for the weak”.

He also criticised the infamous verdict passed by then chief justice Mohammad Munir which “justified martial law”, saying that it “showed might is right”.

FATF-related legislation

Regarding opposition’s resistance to passage of the Financial Action Task Force-related legislation in the parliament, the prime minister reiterated that no NRO would be given to the opposition leaders and said: “The opposition is insisting that the government takes out money laundering sections from the bills and have also proposed 34 amendments to the NAB Ordinance which essentially mean to “dig a grave and bury NAB in it”.

“The country was placed on FATF grey list during PML-N’s tenure and the PTI government introduced the bills in order to prevent the financial watchdog from placing Pakistan on its blacklist, but the opposition rejected them [in the Senate],” he added.

Prime Minister Khan warned that if Pakistan was placed on the blacklist, the country would suffer the same challenges as Iran as all international organisations would stop dealing with the country. “As a result, the rupee would fall which would lead to [further] inflation,” he added.

He said: “People talk about inflation now. If we are placed on the blacklist, we will experience inflation that would ruin our economy.”

The government, he said, had inherited a crumbling economy, which has only now started to recover. “If Pakistan was placed on the blacklist, the country ‘would face destruction that India is working towards,” he said, condemning the opposition for blocking the legislation.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2020