Nawaz, Maryam to be held on arrival

LAHORE: Pakistan’s law and information minister Ali Zafar has said the government will implement accountability court’s orders in letter and spirit and arrest ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz on their arrival at any airport in Pakistan.

He was speaking at “Meet the Press” programme at the Lahore Press Club here on Sunday Mr Zafar said the (caretaker) government had no mandate to interfere in the state institutions’ working or criticise their decisions, he said, adding that anybody having reservations against any court judgment should file an appeal.

“The law enforcement agencies will arrest Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on airport, if they did not get bail before landing in Pakistan,” Mr Zafar told journalists.

He said the court’s judgment against the Sharif family would not affect holding of general elections on July 25.

“General elections will be held on time and that too in a free, fair and transparent manner,” he asserted.

Answering a question about the arrest of Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law, Mr Zafar said the government would extend full support to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to implement court orders that called for retired Capt Safdar’s arrest. “The law enforcement agencies are on the move to arrest Capt Safdar,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)