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Posts Tagged Nawaz Sharif

NAWAZ SHARIF AND CRONIES HIJACK PIA

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True Face of Nawaz Sharif & Ahsan Iqbal Exposed by Talat


 

 

Living like a king — Sharif’s litany of abuses

News Intelligence Unit
By Kamran Khan

  

While constantly pleading with expatriate Pakistanis to send their hard-earned dollars to their motherland, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif caused a dent of at least Rs 110 crore to the national exchequer through the 28 foreign trips he undertook after assuming power on February 17, 1997.

Official documents seen by the News Intelligence Unit (NIU) disclosed that about Rs 15 crore were spent from the tax-payers money for Nawaz Sharif’s six Umra trips. For almost each of his foreign visits, Nawaz Sharif used his special Boeing plane that he had promised to return to PIA for commercial use in his famous national agenda speech in June last year.

Almost unbelievably, instead of keeping his promise to return this special aircraft to PIA, Sharif ordered an extravagant US$1.8 million renovation of his aircraft that turned the Boeing into an airborne palace. While reading sermons on austerity to the nation on almost every domestic tour, on this aircraft — on which all the seats were in a first class configuration — Nawaz Sharif and his entourage would always be served a specially-cooked, seven-course meal. PIA’s former chairman Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had, in fact, hired a cook who was familiar with Sharif’s craze for a special type of ‘Gajrela’ (carrot dessert).

While aboard his special plane, Sharif was always served ‘Lassi’ or Badami milk in a Mughal style silver glass by a crew of his choice. Even on domestic flights, Sharif and his men would be served with Perrier water, not available even to first class domestic passengers. The towels he would use on board, had golden embroidery.

Not for a moment, after making his historic promise to the nation in June last year for leaving the palatial prime minister house for a modest residence in Islamabad, did Nawaz Sharif show any intention to leave the prime minister’s palace. On the contrary, soon after that speech, the Prime Minister House received fresh supplies of imported crockery and groceries.

Some of the permanent in-house residents were Sharif’s personal friends, including one Sajjad Shah who used to crack jokes and play songs for him. Sharif’s little-known political mentor Hasan Pirzada, who died last month, always lived at the Prime Minister House. Sources estimate that Pirzada’s daily guest-list to the PM House numbered around 100 people who were always served with meals or snacks.

In the first year of Nawaz Sharif’s second term in power, Hamid Asghar Kidwai of Mehran bank fame, lived and operated from the Prime Minister House until he was appointed Pakistan’s ambassador to Kenya.

While making unending promises of instituting merit in all appointments and selections, Sharif played havoc with the system while issuing personal directives by ordering 30 direct appointments of officers in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). While Sharif was ordering these unprecedented direct appointments, his crony Saifur Rahman was seeking strict punishment and disqualification of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto for making direct appointments in Pakistan International Airlines.

Out of these 30 people who were directly appointed on posts ranging from deputy director to inspector in the FIA — without interviews, examination or training — 28 were from Lahore and were all close to the Sharif family or his government. One of the lucky inductees was a nephew of President Rafiq Tarar.

Nawaz Sharif had such an incredible liking for his friends from Lahore or Central Punjab, that not a single non-Central Punjabi was included in his close circle, both at the political or administrative levels in the Prime Minister’s Office. At one point, during his tenure, there was not a single Sindhi-speaking active federal secretary in Islamabad.

For about the first 18 months of Sharif’s second term in office, 41 of the most important appointments in Pakistan were in the hands of individuals who were either from Lahore or Central Punjab, despite the total lack of representation of smaller provinces in State affairs. Sharif stunned even his cabinet by choosing Rafiq Tarar for the post of President.

Unknown-7His activities were almost totally Lahore or Punjab focussed, reflected by the fact that in the first 16 months of power, he had only one overnight stay in Karachi. Conversely, he held an open Kutchery on every Sunday in Lahore, a gesture he never showed in any of the smaller provinces.

Nawaz Sharif, who had always promised a ‘small government’ ended up with no less than 48 people with the status of a federal minister in his cabinet. Ironically, less than fifteen per cent of the people in 49-member cabinet came from the three smaller provinces.

While anti-corruption rhetoric always topped his public speeches, Nawaz Sharif demonstrated tremendous tolerance for corruption as he completely ignored strong evidence laden corruption reports against Liaquat Ali Jatoi and his aides in Karachi.

Sources said that volumes of documents on the corruption of Liaquat Ali Jatoi, his brother Senator Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, the then Sindh health secretary and several of Liaquat’s personal staff members were placed before Nawaz Sharif, but he never ordered any action. These sources said that Nawaz Sharif also ignored evidence that showed Liaquat’s newly discovered business interests in Dubai and London.

Informed official sources said that Nawaz Sharif also ignored reports, even those produced by Shahbaz Sharif, about rampant corruption in the Ehtesab Cell (EC). Shahbaz Sharif and several other cabinet ministers had informed Sharif that Khalid Aziz and Wasim Afzal, Saifur Rahman’s right-hand men in the EC were involved in institutionalised corruption through extortion from Ehtesab victims and manipulation of the Intelligence Bureau’s secret funds.

Sources said that the Ehtesab Cell had issued official departmental cards to one Sarfraz Merchant, involved in several cases of bootlegging and another to Mumtaz Burney, a multi-billionaire former police official who had earlier been sacked from the service for being hand in glove with a notorious drug baron. Sharif was told that these two notorious individuals were serving as middle men between Khalid Aziz, Wasim Afzal and those sought by the EC both here and abroad.

Fully aware that Khawer Zaman and Major General Enayet Niazi were amongst the most honest and upright director generals of the FIA, he booted them out only to be replaced by handpicked cronies such as Major (Retd) Mohammad Mushtaq.

Sources said that while posting Rana Maqbool Ahmed as the Inspector General Police, Sindh, Nawaz Sharif was reminded by his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif about his reputation as one of the most corrupt Punjab police officers and also about his shady past. But Nawaz Sharif not only installed Rana as the IGP, but also acted on his advice to remove Gen. Moinuddin Haider as the Governor Sindh.

In a startling paradox, right at the time when the government media campaign was at its peak about the properties of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari in Britain, particularly Rockwood estate in Surrey, disclosures came to light about the Sharif family’s multi-million pound apartments in London’s posh district of Mayfair.

The apartment No: 16, 16a, 17 and 17a that form the third floor of the Avonfield House in Mayfair is the residential base for Sharif family in London. Records show that all those four apartments were in the name Nescoll Ltd and Nielson Ltd Ansbacher (BVI) Ltd, the two off-shore companies managed by Hans Rudolf Wegmuller of Banque Paribas en Suisse and Urs Specker — the two Swiss nationals alleged to be linked with Sharif’s offshore fortune.

In a knee-jerk reaction last year, Sharif first denied the ownership of those flats. Later, his younger son Hasan Nawaz Sharif said the family had leased only two of the flats, while their spokesmen, including former law minister Khalid Anwer, said that Sharif had actually rented those flats.

But what will count with legal experts is the fact that in their tax returns, none of the Sharif family members had ever showed any foreign ownership of any properties, nor had their tax returns listed payments for any rented apartments abroad.

“With the sale of these Mayfair apartments, you can buy three Rockwood-size properties of Asif Zardari,” commented a source, who added that Sharif’s third party owned properties in Britain may land them in a crisis comparable only with Benazir and Zardari’s cases abroad.

In another example of hypocrisy, while Sharif geared up his government’s campaign against loan defaulters in Pakistan, a High Court in London declared his family a defaulter and ordered them to pay US$ 18.8 million to Al-Towfeek Company and its subsidiary Al-Baraka Islamic Bank as payment for interest and loan they had borrowed for Hudabiya Papers Limited.

The court papers said that the Sharifs refused to make payments on the principle amount and instead directed official action against the Arab company’s business interests in Pakistan. Informed sources said that a few days before the fall of the Nawaz Sharif government on October 12, lawyers representing the Sharif family were busy in hectic behind-the-scenes negotiations with Al-Towfeek executives in London for an out-of-court settlement. These sources said that negotiations in London broke down soon after the army action in Islamabad.

While Nawaz Sharif deployed the entire state machinery and spent millions of dollars from the IB’s secret fund to prove money-laundering charges against Benazir Bhutto and her husband abroad, his government crushed any attempt by the FIA to move the Supreme Court of Pakistan against a decision handed down by the Lahore High Court absolving the Sharif family from money-laundering charges instituted against them by the last PPP government.

FIA officials who had investigated the money-laundering charges against the Sharifs faced termination from service, while the agency was told that even a decision to probe money-laundering was a crime. This particular case is likely to now go to the Supreme Court in the next few weeks.

Several inquiries against Sharifs pending with NAB  

ISLAMABAD – Some three corruption references and almost half a dozen inquiries were pending with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Accountability Courts against former Premier and PML-N President Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his other family members, but the same could not be reopened as the Division Bench of Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench had barred the NAB to proceed against Sharif family.

Officials in the National Accountability Bureau informed The Nation that the Division Bench of Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench consisting of Justice Ijazul Hasan and Justice Wahid Khan, an appellate forum of Accountability Courts, had barred the Accountability Courts to proceed against Mian Nawaz Sharif and other family members in these three cases in October last year. The preemptive move was made in the Division Bench of LHC Rawalpindi after the incumbent Chairman NAB Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bokhari was appointed despite the objection on his appointment was made through a letter written to President Asif Ali Zardari by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan.

Sources in the PML-N informed that they had secured stay order against reopening of these cases from the Appellate Court only to prevent the PPP-led coalition government to use these cases for arm twisting of the PML-N leadership though NAB.

So an application for early hearing of their petition, pending with the court for past several months, was initiated and the very next day of moving of the application by AkramSheikh Advocate stay against the opening of these cases was secured from the Division Bench of LHC Rawalpindi.

All the three cases-Hudaybia Paper Mills,Ittefaq Foundries and Assets reference—were framed against Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family members after dislodging of his elected government in 1999 and during year 2000 and initially all the three cases had been fixed for trial at Accountability Court Attock where Mian Nawaz Sharif and his brother MianShahbaz Sharif were kept after the dislodging of their government. All these cases were adjourned sine die under some clandestine deal when Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family was exiled to Saudi Arabia.

These cases were reopened in year 2007 when the Supreme Court allowed Mian Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan but once again he was sent back to Saudi Arabia moments after he landed here at Islamabad Airport.

The request for the reopening of these cases was again made in year 2010 when the then Prosecutor General NAB Dr Danishwar Malik had moved an application seeking reopening of these cases on the plea that as the accused in these cases had returned back to the country so the cases against them should be reopened. But the matter once again went into limbo when the Accountability Court Rawalpindi No. 1 judge directed the Prosecutor General to furnish the request for reopening of these cased duly signed by Chairman NAB but as the slot of Chairman NAB was vacant and once again the court had adjourned these cases sine die. In State vs Hudaybia Paper Mills (Pvt) Ltd-nine members of the Sharif family were accused of committing a corruption of Rs 642.743 million.

As per NAB allegations the accused had secured loan against the Hudaybia Paper Mills and later used this money to pay off the loans of other companies owned by the Sharif family. Mian Muhammad Sharif, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Mian Abbas Sharif, Hussain Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Mrs Shamim Akhtar (Mother to NawazSharif), Mrs Sabiha Abbas, Mrs Maryam Safdar and former Federal Minister Ishaq Dar were the accused in this reference.

In State Vs Ittefaq Foundries etc, Mian Nawaz Sharif, his brother Mian Abbas Sharif and Kamal Qureshi were charged with the willful default of Rs 1.06 billion.

The main allegation against the accused in this case was that M/s Ittefaq Foundries Ltd obtained cash finance from National Bank. As per NAB allegations, the company willfully defaulted to pay back the amount in 1994. In State vs Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif etc is about the Raiwind assets.

Main allegation in this reference is that the accused had acquired vast tracts of land on which a number of palatial houses and mansions were constructed with less resources, which appeared to be grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income. As per NAB allegations, there involved an amount Rs 247.352 million that is under question. Apart from Mian Nawaz Sharif, his mother was also an accused in this case.

There are six investigations against Sharif pending before the NAB following Chairman NAB’s order. These pending investigations included; case of illegal appointments in theFIA against Mian Nawaz Sharif; misuse of authority by Nawaz Sharif as ex-Chief Minister Punjab in the construction of road from Raiwind to Sharif family house causing loss of Rs125 million; Sharif Trust case against Nawaz Sharif/Sharif Trust involving allegation of money laundering, misappropriation of trust funds and acquisition of benami assets in the name of Sharif Trust; London properties case against Nawaz Sharif and others regarding owning of Aven Field properties in London; Illegal appointments in PIA allegedly byMian Nawaz Sharif, and corruption in the allotment of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) plots involving ex-CM Nawaz Sharif, ex-DG LDA Brig (Retd) Manzoor Malik, ex-Director Estate and Shahid Rafi.

Two pending inquiries against Sharifs in the NAB included a complaint of allotment of LDA plots and another complaint about alleged misappropriation of government property by allotting 12 plots to Mian Attaullah instead of one in Gulshan Ravi Scheme ,thereby, causing loss of Rs 20 million to the State.

It is pertinent to mention here that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and other accused in plane hijacking and helicopter case were acquitted

 
 

 

 

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HAROON RASHID: PRO-TALIBAN NAWAZ SHARIF SHARIF RECEIVED NEARLY 2 BILLION RUPEES FROM OSAMA BIN LADIN

 

History of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif So Called Poltical Leader of Pakistan

 In 1995 when Mirza Iqbal Beg was imprisoned, Sohail Zia Butt took over his drug empire. It is at this time that he became one of the biggest drug and crime bosses in Pakistan and was nicknamed the “King of Hera Mandi” and at one time all six underworld gangs of Lahore were working under him.

In the early eighties, after that Nawaz Sharif had completed his education his father Mian Muhammad Sharif started him in the business. However, this proved a disaster. As a second option Mian Muhammad Sharif set him up with Pakistani actor Saeed Khan Rangeela to get him into acting (something which Nawaz Sharif wanted).

A few days later Saeed Khan Rangeela sent his regrets to Mian Muhammad Sharif saying that his son was too dumb for acting and movie industry. Mian Muhammad Sharif then a cricket coaches to train his son for cricket, but his physical fitness was too low for the sport. It is rumored that by mid-day on his first day at training Nawaz Sharif threw the bat down and left the stadium saying, “This is too tough for me.”  As a last resort he paid General Ghulam Jilani Khan a considerable sum of monies to introduce Nawaz Sharif to General Zia-ul-Haq recommending him for a political post, who in turn made Nawaz Sharif the Finance Minister of Punjab. This was the day when the street thugs of Mohni Road had stepped on to becoming the national thugs of Pakistan.

The day Nawaz Sharif had become Finance Minister, the entire family’s earnings were few million rupees and had only one refinery. From there they went on to: Ittefaq Sugar Mills was set up in 1982, Brothers steel in 1983, Brother’s Textile Mills in 1986, Brothers Sugar Mills Ltd in 1986, Ittefaq Textile units in 2-3 in 1987, Khalid Siraj Textile Mills in 1988, Ramzan Buksh Textiles in 1987, Farooq Barkat (pvt) Ltd in 1985. By the time of Zia ul Haq’s fateful plane crash, Mian Muhammad Sharif’s family was earning a net profit of US$ 3 million, up from a few million rupees. By the end of the decade their net assets were worth more than 6 billion rupees, according to their own admission, nearly US$ 350 million at the time. But this turned out to be small-change when Nawaz Sharif became the Prime Minister.

When Nawaz Sharif became prime minister, the group took a decision to secure project loans from the foreign banks and only working capital were taken from the nationalized commercial banks. The project financing from foreign banks was ostensibly secured against the foreign currency deposits, a number of which were held in benamee accounts, as repeatedly claimed by Interior Minister Naseer Ullah Babar at his press conferences. In 1992 Salman Taseer released an account of Nawaz Sharif’s corruption stating that the family had taken loans of up to 12 billion rupees, which were never paid back. On March 2, 1994, Khalid Siraj, a cousin of Nawaz Sharif claimed that the assets of the seven brothers were valued at Rs 21 billion.

These were the accounts of profits and companies which were openly known to public. However, the family kept their side business going all the while ” the gambling dens and heroin control in Lahore ” and along with their industry the side business also mushroomed.

During the Afghan-Soviet War Nawaz Sharif’s cousin Sohail Zia Butt started working under the drug baron Mirza Iqbal Beg, then Pakistan’s second biggest drug lord after Ayub Afridi. Mian Muhammad Sharif and his sons had a permanent share in his gambling and heroin business. In 1990 Suhail Butt won a seat on the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad ticket in the Punjab Assembly. It was through Sohail Butt’s association that Nawaz Sharif became a close associate of Mirza Iqbal Beg. It was through him that Nawaz Sharif became benami owner of many of the privatized government entities, such as Muslim Commercial Bank. Sohail Zia Butt other than getting involved in the drug business made billions in the co-operative societies’ collapse, mainly through the National Industrial Credit and Finance Corporation. It was Nawaz Sharif’s share in his cousin’s drug business which he used to buy off the generals thereby delaying the inevitable dismissal of his government.

In 1995 when Mirza Iqbal Beg was imprisoned, Sohail Zia Butt took over his drug empire. It is at this time that he became one of the biggest drug and crime bosses in Pakistan and was nicknamed the “King of Hera Mandi” and at one time all six underworld gangs of Lahore were working under him.

By 1995 family’s declared annual profits from industrial units had increased 1500% from US$ 30 million to staggering US$ 400 million.

This is the short version of how in mere 15 years small street thugs running gambling dens became leaders of a country running narcotics, underworld and smuggling empires, untouched by everyone.

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EXPRESS TRIBUNE: Can Pakistan witness an Egyptian style revolution?

 

 

THIS ARTICLE APPEARED BEFORE THE MAY 11, ELECTIONS AND IS QUITE PROPHETIC : 

NAWAZ SHARIF~OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES

nawaz sharif

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can Pakistan witness an Egyptian style revolution?

Every Pakistani is willing to spend hours on criticism; what if they spent the same time taking charge of things instead?PHOTO: AFP

Mohamed Bouazizi was a Tunisian street vendor, who poured fuel over and set himself ablaze in an elegant double-storey building with arched, azure shutters. The hard-scrabble loitered in the hospital for a few hours before breathing his last breath. His self-immolation became a catalyst for the Tunisian revolution.

Khalid Mehboob, a depressed and dejected father of six, jobless and poor, self-immolated himself outside Karachi Press Club. Unlike Tunisia, normal life sustained in Pakistan.

According to the annual Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), 12,580 people were killed all across Pakistan in 2010. Thousands of innocents fall prey to sectarianism, ethnocentrism, drone attacks, abductions and judicial killings every year. Between August 24 and September 26, 2011, 166 people committed suicide in Pakistan.

So why doesn’t Pakistan tread the same road as Egypt or Tunisia? Why don’t we have throngs of protestors on our streets? Why aren’t the establishment and the existing political forces on the verge of a collapse?

There are two types of Pakistanis with two types of thought engines apparently.

The first type of Pakistanis believe in an external locus of control and they attribute the nation’s shortcomings to their sins; thanks to religious agitators.

The second type thinks that the establishment is the reason we have never prospered as a nation. Every Pakistani is willing to spend hours on criticism; what if they spent the same time taking charge of things instead?

Pakistan’s ruling political parties have had years of experience trying to assert themselves over the powerful establishment, and they have learnt their lessons the hard way, no doubt. Nawaz may threaten mass protests but he fears the military taking over at the back of his mind.

Don’t we remember that street power played an imperative role in the resignation of ex-president Pervez Musharraf in 2008?The movement which was spearheaded by the legal community, paved way for the same old political demagogues.

Pakistani people protest for a change in government, but not for a complete wipeout of leadership.

Loyalty to one’s leader is imperative in Pakistan and don’t you think otherwise. The masses protest on the orders of their leadership which, obviously, would never aim to wipe itself out.

Political parties in Pakistan are still an effective tool for political mobilisation and association. Unlike Egypt and Tunisia, Pakistan is witnessing the emergence of a civil society. Pakistani media ─  no matter how much it believes in propaganda and sensationalism ─  is still free to a great extent. Many anchors have gone beyond limits to criticise the existing regime and the establishment even. This is surprising as Egypt is the most deplorable and Tunisia is the most repressive country for journalists if compared to Pakistan.

The most commonly missed things are those that are right in front of our eyes. In all the commotion, we have failed to notice that there is a process underway; a journey to democracy and power distribution. The existence of a free press, elections, political party system and a defying judiciary has enabled Pakistan to survive in these tumultuous times. According to Pakistani political pundits, the existing political structure is better than an unknown political order.

The conclusion is clear; Pakistan may see a lot of political instability in the future, but it is unlikely to witness an Egyptian style revolution.

 
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You Be the Judge: Nawaz Sharif, the New Mujib of Pakistan?

Has Nawaz Sharif in Lust for Power Gone Mad? Does Foreign Agent Nawaz Sharif Pose a Danger to Pakistan’s Security & Strategic Programs?

 

 

A recent interview of General Parvez Musharraf with Geo program has revealed some lucidity among Pakistani politicians and ex-spies toward Afghanistan and the war. Two of his closed soldiers Mehmood and Usmani who wanted to be vice-chief of the army and refused the loyalty they demanded by left the army.  Musharraf described General Hamid, the retired ISI chief a very ambitious person and was very close to pro-religious forces of Pakistan. Musharraf divulged Hamid Gul greed of power when he wanted Musharraf to stay behind him as chief of army and let him rule Pakistan.

He called Nawaz Sahrif, Muslim League-N,  very dangerous man for Pakistan. When asked regarding WikiLeaks revelation of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, “dirty” he refused to comment on Zardari, but called Nawaz Sharif a “closet Taliban” and a “threat to the country.”

 

PHAJA’S KABAB, BADAMI LASSI, & KIM BARKER REBUFF MAY BE CAUSING THIS LUNACY IN AMBURSARI KASHMIRI “HATHOO,’ THURKEE NAWAZ SHARIF

 

 
Will probe ISI’s role in 26/11 attacks if return to power: Nawaz Sharif
 
May 06, 2013
 
Islamabad: Emphasising on the need to begin from “where we left in 1999”, ex-Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif on Monday promised never to allow the country’s soil for anti-India activities and said he will expedite the 26/11 trial here and probe ISI’s role in the Mumbai terror attacks if he returns to power. He stressed on the importance of resolving the Kashmir issue peacefully and suggested that back channel negotiations should be reactivated besides making the 1999 Kargil operations an “open secret”. 
 
“We have to start from where we were interrupted in 1999. Vajpayee saab came across, we signed that historic Lahore accord. He had said very good things about Pakistan which are still fresh in my memory. I also reciprocated. I think those times must come back again,” Sharif said in an interview to a news channel. He added that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had told him, ‘Nawaz saab why can’t we declare 1999 as the year of resolution of all problems between India and Pakistan’. 
 
“He has said very good thing. If we get a chance to rule this country, this will be our main priorities”, Sharif said. On cross-border terrorism, the PML-N chief, who is widely expected to form the next government here, said, “We don’t want our territory to be used for terrorist activities. These elements are deliberately spoiling the relationship”. Asked about Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, he said, “Many of these organisations have already been banned. If I become prime minister I will make sure that Pakistani soil is never used for any such design against India. We must not allow such speeches to be made against India by anybody including Hafeez Saab”. 
 
Replying to a query on terror convict David Headley’s statement implicating ISI in the Mumbai attacks, he said, “If he has given such a statement that needs to be verified first… But how far these statements are true, we have to see. I think such issues to be investigated carefully including what happened in Kargil”. Sharif said that the the entire Army of Pakistan was kept in dark about the Kargil operation. “No corps commander had any knowledge that this Kargil operation is going on. Even the Chiefs of the Armed forces complained about why they were not informed. I think the commission will have to bring out the full truth. This will be an open secret”. 
 
On Kashmir issue, he said it needs to be resolved peacefully to the satisfaction of not only both the countries but also to the satisfaction of the people of Kashmir. On “separate Kashmir”, Sharif said, “We have our stated positions since last 60-65 years. India says Kashmir is our ‘Atoot ang’. In 1999 the Lahore declaration was a different atmosphere. It said both the countries agree to solve the Kashmir issue by sitting across the table, peacefully. We need to begin from where we had left in 1999”. 
 
Asked what was message to India Sharif said, “I want to say to the people of India that we could be very good friends. My birthplace is in India, I’ve twice been there. A lot of emotional involvement. Once we hold our hands and throw out all enmity and hatred from our hearts and be determined to solve all our problems peacefully, this will change the fate of this sub-continent”. 
 
On reciprocating same relationship with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he used to have with Vajpayee, Sharif said “Certainly it will be pleasure and personal privilege to visit India. It would certainly be a privilege to see Manmohan Singh visiting Pakistan. Pakistan is the place was he was born. So therefore we will be very happy to exchange these feelings”. 
 
PTI 
 
 US WATCH OUT : Nawaz Sharif = Taliban = Rise of Saudi Fanaticism & Wahabism = Incubation of Terrorists = Nawaz Sharif Clear & Present Danger to Global Peace & Security
 
 
Sharif plans talks with Taliban and army to end Pakistan violence
 
By Victor Mallet and Farhan Bokhari in Lahore
 ©AP May 6, 2013 
 
Nawaz Sharif, the former Pakistani prime minister whose party is forecast to win the most seats in this week’s general election, has said he plans to open immediate talks with all sides, incluing the armed forces and Taliban militants, to end the country’s “gigantic” terrorism problem.
“If we win the elections we will call everybody, make them sit there and then of course will try to find an answer,” Mr Sharif said in an interview with the Financial Times at his family estate outside Lahore. “Guns and bullets are not always the answer.”
 
Politics in Pakistan have been marked by periodic violence, assassinations and military takeovers since partition from India in 1947. But recent bomb and gun attacks by Islamist extremists on religious minorities and secular politicians have caused so many deaths that the nation’s stability has been called into question by Pakistanis and foreigners alike. The Pakistani Taliban reject the constitution and have told people not to vote, calling democracy “un-Islamic” and the work of secular forces. Some parties have curtailed campaigning for fear of further violence.
 
“We have the problem of extremism, of terrorism in this country,” Mr Sharif said. “And that has taken 40,000 lives . . . We have problems in Karachi, we have problems in Baluchistan and, of course, the tribal areas.” Mr Sharif, 63, who has twice been prime minister and was last ousted in 1999 in a military coup led by Pervez Musharraf, said all relevant parties would be invited to join the talks to end terrorism. Asked if that included the Pakistani Taliban, which has been fighting the military in the tribal areas for several years, he said: “A few weeks ago, the Taliban offered dialogue to the government of Pakistan and said, ‘we are prepared to talk’. I think the government of Pakistan should have taken that seriously. [It] did not take it seriously.”
 
Such negotiations, Mr Sharif suggested, would be preceded by a discussion among democratic politicians as to how to engage the militants. “Let us first debate that among ourselves, let there be a brainstorming session as to what strategy we need for that and how we initiate these talks with the Taliban,” he said. However, a conciliatory approach – although apparently similar to the halting attempts being made to engage the Afghan Taliban over the border by the Kabul government and its US allies – might provoke a hostile reaction from some senior army officers.
 
“If he really pursues what he’s saying, he may run into difficulties in six months,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a political analyst and author of a book on the Pakistani armed forces, noting that more Pakistani troops had now died fighting terrorists than in the wars against India. “At the moment he’s seen as being soft on the Taliban and also soft on Punjab-based sectarian militant groups,” said Mr Rizvi. “He can’t talk to the Taliban while ignoring the military altogether.”
 
Despite Mr Sharif’s ousting in the 1999 coup, he insisted he bore no grudges against the military. “I don’t hold the military responsible for what happened to me, I don’t hold the military responsible for what happened to the country,” he said. “The takeover was the decision of one man [Mr Musharraf, and] a coterie of three other people. I don’t blame the military [as an institution] for that.” In the election on Saturday, opinion polls predict that Mr Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will become the biggest party in parliament but will not be able to form a government without coalition partners.
 
The other big parties are the Pakistan People’s Party of Asif Ali Zardari, which recently stepped down after finishing its five-year term, and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) of Imran Khan, the former cricketer who is popular among young city-dwellers and is also seen as conciliatory towards the Taliban.
Mr Sharif said his other main priority if he won would be to solve the deep economic malaise, which includes severe shortages of electricity, sluggish growth, and the risk of a balance of payments crisis. “Pakistan is confronted with huge, huge problems,” he said.
 
 
 
You Be the Judge: Does this makes sense? 
 
 
Nawaz Sharif accuses PPP of using Imran Khan as proxy
 
May 6th, 2013 
 
Pakistan Muslim League-N Chief Nawaz Sharif Monday accused the PPP of using Imran as proxy in the electoral arena.
 
Addressing public gatherings in Kabirwala district Khanewal, Faisalabad and Sahiwal, the PML-N chief the PPP is nowhere to be seen in the electoral contest and assigned the task to Imran Khan to divide the anti-PPP votes. He said that the bullet train worth 10 billion dollars from Karachi to Peshawar will be started if voted to power. He also announced to lay a network of motorways from Faisalabad to Kabirwala and Multan. The PML-N Chief vowed that if voted to power his party will eliminate load-shedding and unemployment from the country.
 
He pledged to setup a new bank to grant credit for youth to help them launch their own businesses. Nawaz Sharif said he would change destiny of the nation through support of the masses. PML-N leader said he did not play cricket alone as he made the country a nuclear power and built motorways. Nawaz Sharif said if voted to power‚ his party will again take the country to new heights of development and prosperity. He said Pakistan will play a leading role in the region. He said his party will bring a revolution rather than a simple change in the country. He said his party along with youth will reconstruct the country, adding that the people would have to choose the path‚ which leads to peace and prosperity.

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Say “NO” to Nawaz Sharif, Shady, Double Dealing, Money Laundering Crook Will Be a Disaster For Pakistan


Pakistan’s anti-graft body objects to Sharifs’ candidature

 

Islamabad: Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog has objected to the candidature of former premier Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif in the upcoming General Election, saying they had defaulted on a bank loan worth Rs 3.48 billion. 

The National Accountability Bureau yesterday raised the issue in an official communication sent to the Election Commission. 

Three graft cases against the Sharifs and their relatives are currently pending in an anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi, NAB officials told the media. 

The Sharif brothers have been accused of defaulting on a loan that was taken for the Hudaibiya Paper Mills. 

 

Nawaz Sharif, the head of the main opposition PML-N, and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif were also accused of accumulating money and assets beyond their declared means of income by misusing authority. 

A case in this regard was filed against them in an anti-corruption court in Attack in March 2000. Several of their relatives, including Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz, Shamim Akhtar, Sabiha Abbas, Maryam Safdar and Ishaq Dar, are among the accused in the cases. 

Malik alleges Nawaz Sharif involved in money laundering

 | 28th April, 2012
 
 

Rehman Malik also alleged that Nawaz Sharif made a second NRO with dictator Pervez Musharraf and went abroad after signing an agreement and violated the Charter of Democracy (COD) he signed with Benazir Bhutto in 2006.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday alleged that PML-N Chief and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was involved in money laundering.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, he said evidence against Nawaz Sharif would be placed before the Supreme Court and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for alleged corruption of $32 million.

Rehman Malik said a commission may be formed to investigate alleged involvement of Nawaz Sharif in money laundering.

He appealed to the Supreme Court to call him and he would present all evidence. He further alleged that Nawaz Sharif made an NRO with former President Farooq Ahmed Leghari and as a result, Benazir Bhutto’s elected government was unconstitutionally dismissed in November 1996.

Rehman Malik also alleged that Nawaz Sharif made a second NRO with dictator Pervez Musharraf and went abroad after signing an agreement and violated the Charter of Democracy (COD) he signed with Benazir Bhutto in 2006.

Unknown-6A spokesman for the PML-N rejected the allegations against the party’s top leadership, saying the accusations made by the NAB were “misleading”. 

He alleged that NAB officials were acting at the behest of the previous Pakistan People’s Party-led government to target PML-N leaders. 

 

The Election Commission recently made the NAB part of the set-up for scrutinising the candidates for the May 11 General Election. 

Shahbaz Sharif is contesting polls to the Punjab Assembly while Nawaz Sharif is a candidate for polls to the National Assembly. The elder Sharif is widely tipped to become premier if the PML-N wins the polls. 

The NAB has set up special election cells to facilitate the scrutiny of candidates. 

The Election Commission has also roped in the Federal Bureau of Revenue, State Bank of Pakistan and National Database and Registration Authority in a bid to weed out candidates accused of corruption or wrong-doing. 

The Election Commission has said that tax-evaders, people who default on loans and utility bills and beneficiaries of loan write-offs will be barred from contesting the polls, which will mark the first democratic transition in Pakistan’s history. 

 

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