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Imran Khan govt tries to distance itself from sedition case against Nawaz Sharif
Science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Prime Minister Imran Khan was unaware of the case.
The Imran Khan government is now seeking to distance itself from the sedition charges against former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, while the local police said the case was registered on a complaint by a private citizen, and not by the state or its institutions.
The sedition charges were filed as Pakistan’s opposition parties are set to hold their first combined rally against the government on October 16, weeks after launching the Pakistan Democratic Movement to seek the “selected” prime minister’s resignation and an end to the role of the powerful military in the country’s politics.
Science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Prime Minister Khan was unaware of the sedition case. “The prime minister was not aware when I brought into his notice that an FIR has been registered [in Lahore] in which Nawaz Sharif and others have been nominated,” Fawad said, adding Khan “expressed strong displeasure. Let’s see what happens.”
The case was registered on Monday by the Lahore police against Nawaz Sharif and members of his PML-N party including his daughter Maryam Nawaz, former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and three retired generals of the Pakistan Army.
Late on Monday, the Lahore Capital City Police issued a press release saying, “various speculations were being made in the media regarding the case”.
“In fact, the case was registered on the request of a citizen, Badar Rasheed, on which Shahdara police registered a case under the applicate section of the law,” it said.
The FIR against Nawaz Sharif came a day after his son-in-law Muhammad Safdar was booked under sedition charges for “provoking the people against the state and its institutions.”
The FIR against Sharif alleged that the former premier had conspired against Pakistan’s prestigious institutions by making provocative speeches while being in London. The complainant claimed that in speeches made on September 20 and October 1, Sharif supported the policies of India so that Pakistan would continue to remain on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘grey list’ over non-compliance on terror financing and money laundering.
The complainant said that the main purpose of Nawaz’s speeches was to isolate Pakistan in front of the international community and to declare it a rogue state. He added that Nawaz was trying to turn the people against the democratically elected government.
(With inputs from Agencies)
