M A I N   N E W S

Secret deal to free Sharif?

ISLAMABAD, Dec 9 (UNI) — Pakistan’s deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may be allowed to leave the country within the next few days under a clandestine deal with the military government, newspapers reported today.

The daily News quoting sources said the deal had been brokered by a friendly Middle East country.

According to a report, Mr Sharif would leave the country on the pretext of going abroad for medical treatment.

Reuters adds: The deposed Prime Minister will receive a pardon in exchange for going into exile for at least 10 years, senior sources in his party said.

Mr Sharif’s wife Kulsoom, who has taken over directing the Pakistan Muslim League in his absence, said Saudi officials had carried out extended negotiations on the jailed leader’s future but she did not know the outcome.

“If the government offers anything like that I will jump at it,” she said of the reported terms before heading off to visit Mr Sharif in prison. But she said they would want to go into exile only long enough for his health to recover and added it was not clear how long the current military regime would last.

The party sources said Mr Sharif would leave for Saudi Arabia as early as Sunday after receiving a presidential pardon for the series of crimes for which he is now serving multiple sentences. Mr Sharif, his wife, his father-in-law and a brother, who are also in prison on related charges, would all accompany him into exile after the former Prime Minister promises not to re-enter Pakistan for 10 years, the sources said.