Aitzaz Ahsan sees internal conflict between Sharif brothers

LAHORE: Suspecting an internal ‘conflict’between Sharif brothers, Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Aitzaz Ahsan on Monday claimed ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left for Saudi Arabia in panic after learning about meetings between Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi officials.

Talking to media here, Aitzaz Ahsan said the PML-N supremo did not depart on an invitation.

“He might have left in fear of Shehbaz’s meetings with Saudi officials,” the PPP leader said.

He said tensions exist between the brothers on the party reins. “Saudi authorities are no longer beneficial for Nawaz Sharif,” Ahsan noted.

Commenting on Tahirul Qadri’s all-parties conference (APC), he said the PPP has made no alliance with Qadri-led Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT). “The party only attended the moot to express solidarity with the Model Town incident victims.

On Saturday, former PM Sharif had left for the Kingdom after his brother Shehbaz Sharif and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique flown to Saudi Arabia amid speculations about a political settlement in the making to get off the hook.

With absence of any official statement about the party’s top leaders’ departure to the kingdom, speculations were rife that the former premier was on a mission to seek help of his old friends in Riyadh to get away with the corruption charges he is facing.

The opposition parties have been deeming the visits as a step towards winning a deal like National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to escape from the corruption charges the Sharifs are facing in courts amid growing clamour for the resignations of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.