Nawaz Sharif won't be able to complete jail term: Aitzaz Ahsan

LAHORE/KARACHI: There are been considerable reports that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is seeking a deal out of prison and has offered to go abroad in return.

However, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Aitzaz Ahsan said he believes that Nawaz Sharif will not be able to complete his ten-year long jail term and will seek some reprieve out of prison.

Speaking exclusively to ARY News on Tuesday, the senior lawyer said that based on circumstantial evidence and strong assumptions, Nawaz Sharif cannot stay in jail as it would be very difficult for him.

He recalled that Nawaz Sharif sought the help of the Saudi royal family and former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and even US President Bill Clinton to pressurise then president General Pervez Musharraf when he was ousted from power in October 1999 and went abroad with his family.

He said that Nawaz Sharif returned back to Pakistan with his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, even though he was sure that he will be imprisoned. “It was not possible that Nawaz Sharif would return knowing that he would be jailed. It was not likely but it was expected he would be jailed,” he said.

He further said that Nawaz’s sons, Hussain and Hassan, are proclaimed offenders and it will be rather difficult for him to receive bail on these grounds. “His daughter played a bigger role, his sons are absconders,” he said adding that Nawaz’s lawyers might have informed him the difficulties in seeking bail.

Recently the convicted prime minister met with governors of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Adiala Jail and both personalities reportedly discussed several political issues with him. Sharif was also recently cleared by a medical board after undergoing tests in prison.

Aitzaz refused to predict who will be the next prime minister, but said that role of the PPP as the kingmaker will be crucial and cannot be undermined.