Lahore police have registered a case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and other party leaders for 'conspiring' against the country and state institutions.
According to an FIR registered at Shahdara police station, the former prime minister was 'carrying out a planned conspiracy to defame the country and its institutions by making inflammatory speeches'.
The FIR also implicates PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pervaiz Rashid, Maryam Nawaz, Rana Sanaullah and Marriyum Aurangzeb and others who participated in the PML-N's Central Executive Committee and Central Working Committee meetings held last week, reported Dawn.
It said the Nawaz, who went to London for medical treatment, was facing corruption charges in the courts of Pakistan. However, instead of availing medical care in England, the PML-N leader was 'conspiring' against the country.
It alleges that in the speeches made on September 20 and October 1, the former premier supported the policies of neighbouring India, so that Pakistan would continue to remain on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) 'grey list', reported the newspaper.
"The main purpose of Nawaz's speeches is to isolate Pakistan in front of the international community and to declare it a rogue state," the complaint says. It adds that Nawaz is trying to turn the people against the democratically elected government.
PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the FIR was 'another black mark in the fictional history books of Pakistan'. He said that it had a 'unique position among allegations of treason' in Pakistani history.
"I request the federal ministers not to take the support of Badar Rasheed and get cases registered with [their] own names so people can see [their] reality," he said.
Earlier, the British government refused to help the Pakistan High Commission to execute non-bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in self-imposed exile in London since last year.
The News reported that the British government told the Pakistani officials that it would not get involved in the matter.
“Five attempts have been made so far to get the arrest warrants signed and delivered at the Avenfield flats, but there has been no success as neither Nawaz Sharif nor any member of the Sharif family has signed the official papers,” the newspaper quoted sources as saying.
Pakistani diplomats also asked the British government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to help execute the arrest warrants, but the British government plainly refused by informing the Pakistani officials that the UK government will not interfere in Pakistan’s internal political matters, it was reported.
The PML-N supremo was declared a proclaimed offender earlier this month and has previously also refused to receive the arrest warrants issued in his name and delivered at the Park Lane address.
At least two dozen protesters held a demonstration outside former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence in London on Sunday and yelled slogans against him.
Dawn reported that over 20 men with their faces covered in masks and hoods gathered on Dunraven. They were chanting ‘go Nawaz go’ slogans and also held placards with the words “We stand with Pak Army” printed on them.
According to the newspaper, the protesters also ‘hurled abuses and swear words in Punjabi’. “By the time the police vehicle arrived, the crowd had dispersed, leaving behind their posters,” said the news report. The protesters did not belong to any political party, a Pakistan journalist based in the UK tweeted.
According to an FIR registered at Shahdara police station, the former prime minister was 'carrying out a planned conspiracy to defame the country and its institutions by making inflammatory speeches'.
The FIR also implicates PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pervaiz Rashid, Maryam Nawaz, Rana Sanaullah and Marriyum Aurangzeb and others who participated in the PML-N's Central Executive Committee and Central Working Committee meetings held last week, reported Dawn.
It said the Nawaz, who went to London for medical treatment, was facing corruption charges in the courts of Pakistan. However, instead of availing medical care in England, the PML-N leader was 'conspiring' against the country.
It alleges that in the speeches made on September 20 and October 1, the former premier supported the policies of neighbouring India, so that Pakistan would continue to remain on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) 'grey list', reported the newspaper.
"The main purpose of Nawaz's speeches is to isolate Pakistan in front of the international community and to declare it a rogue state," the complaint says. It adds that Nawaz is trying to turn the people against the democratically elected government.
PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the FIR was 'another black mark in the fictional history books of Pakistan'. He said that it had a 'unique position among allegations of treason' in Pakistani history.
"I request the federal ministers not to take the support of Badar Rasheed and get cases registered with [their] own names so people can see [their] reality," he said.
Earlier, the British government refused to help the Pakistan High Commission to execute non-bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in self-imposed exile in London since last year.
The News reported that the British government told the Pakistani officials that it would not get involved in the matter.
“Five attempts have been made so far to get the arrest warrants signed and delivered at the Avenfield flats, but there has been no success as neither Nawaz Sharif nor any member of the Sharif family has signed the official papers,” the newspaper quoted sources as saying.
Pakistani diplomats also asked the British government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to help execute the arrest warrants, but the British government plainly refused by informing the Pakistani officials that the UK government will not interfere in Pakistan’s internal political matters, it was reported.
The PML-N supremo was declared a proclaimed offender earlier this month and has previously also refused to receive the arrest warrants issued in his name and delivered at the Park Lane address.
Protest outside residence
At least two dozen protesters held a demonstration outside former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence in London on Sunday and yelled slogans against him.
Dawn reported that over 20 men with their faces covered in masks and hoods gathered on Dunraven. They were chanting ‘go Nawaz go’ slogans and also held placards with the words “We stand with Pak Army” printed on them.
According to the newspaper, the protesters also ‘hurled abuses and swear words in Punjabi’. “By the time the police vehicle arrived, the crowd had dispersed, leaving behind their posters,” said the news report. The protesters did not belong to any political party, a Pakistan journalist based in the UK tweeted.