LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) has directed its workers to reach the airport on time to receive the party’s leader Nawaz Sharif, with his daughter Maryam Nawaz, here on Friday evening.
Nawaz and Maryam have been sentenced by the accountability court in the Avenfield reference on the charges of owning assets beyond their means.
The court sentenced three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to 10 years in prison and Maryam to seven years.
The third accused, Capt (Retd) Safdar, has been sent to one year’s jail. The court issued warrants for the three following the verdict.
The party has decided not to go violent on the arrival of the father and daughter, but to remain peaceful.
The decision was taken at the meeting of party leaders at its head office in the Model Town area of Lahore on Monday.
It is the second day in a row that the party leadership has gathered here and discussed strategies to welcome their leaders.
The Sunday meeting was chaired by party president, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Nawaz and former Punjab Chief Minister.
The meeting was attended by by senior party leaders, including former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq, former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal and Shehbaz’s son, Hamza Shahbaz.
Another meeting was held at the same place on Monday afternoon which reviewed the arrangements of the “welcome.” It was decided that the party would advise its workers to remain peaceful.
“We will be peaceful and go to the airport to welcome our leaders. We need peace in the country; our workers will not behave harshly,” senior party leader and former railways minister Rafique told the media after the meeting.
A special welcome committee has been formulated that comprises: Party Chairman, Raja Zafarul Haq, Parvez Rasheed, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Hamza Shahbaz, PML-N city president, Parvez Malik, Amir Muqam, Shah Muhammad, Abdul Qadir Baloch and Marriyum Aurangzeb.
The party has directed all the ticket holders and party office bearers from the city to motivate its workers to reach the airport.
The party office-bearers from Na 125 and 126 held a special meeting with Hamza Shahbaz. They were advised that every person should bring 250 people with him to the airport on Friday. Similar meetings were held with the other constituencies’ leaders.
Political pundits say that the party is trying to motivate its workers by turning the return of Nawaz into an event and get political mileage on the opponents.
“The party has invited its workers to go to the airport to receive its leader Mian Nawaz Sharif. The PML-N worker is depressed at the moment and calling him at the airport is an attempt to boost morale,” senior political analyst Javed Farooqi told Arab News.
PML-N spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb told the media after the meeting that the party would not adopt a policy of confrontation.
“We will be peaceful. No confrontation. We will not give any chance to anyone to get escape from the elections,” she said.
PML-N announced big but peaceful welcome for Nawaz and Maryam on Friday
PML-N announced big but peaceful welcome for Nawaz and Maryam on Friday
- Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz will arrive in Lahore on Friday after court verdict
- Workers are directed to be peaceful, no confrontation: Khwaja Saad Rafique
Pakistan says it has received no request to join Gaza stabilization force
- Foreign Office says any decision on participating in an international mechanism will be guided by sovereign policy considerations
- It says Pakistan’s security collaboration with Saudi Arabia is longstanding and should not be narrowly viewed as troop deployment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has not taken any decision on joining a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza and has received no formal request from the United States or any other country in this regard, the foreign office said on Thursday.
Trump’s Gaza plan, outlined as part of a 20-point framework, envisages the deployment of troops from Muslim-majority countries during a transitional stabilization phase, intended to support security and governance as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory moves toward reconstruction and a longer-term political settlement.
International media outlets claim Washington views Pakistan as a potentially significant contributor given its battle-hardened military, which has fought a brief but intense conflict with India this year and continues to combat insurgencies in its remote regions.
Responding to a query during his weekly media briefing, the foreign office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, said discussions on ISF for Gaza were ongoing in “certain capitals,” but Pakistan had neither committed to participate nor received any specific request.
“We have not taken a sovereign decision to participate in ISF as yet,” he said. “I am not aware of any specific request made to Pakistan. We will inform you about any development if it takes place.”
He added that while Gaza and Palestine remain part of Pakistan’s broader diplomatic engagements with regional partners, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and members of the United Nations Security Council, the issue of deploying a stabilization force had not been discussed as a standalone, structured agenda item.
“These discussions come up in the broader context of how to stabilize Gaza and ensure peace, but not as a specific, formal proposal,” he added.
The spokesperson maintained Pakistan supports efforts aimed at Gaza’s stabilization and peace but would make any decision on participation in international mechanisms strictly in line with its sovereign policy considerations.
In response to a question about a recent news report by Reuters about a possible visit by Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir to the United States to meet US President Donald Trump, Andrabi said there was no confirmation of such plans.
“I can contradict the report in its essence,” he said. “The report suggested as if a visit has been planned or finalized. I do not have any information on the timing or any future visit.”
Earlier, a White House official told Arab News on background no meeting was scheduled between Trump and Munir “at this time.”
The foreign office spokesperson stressed that official visits by Pakistan’s political or military leadership are announced formally by the government ahead of time.
“When an official visit takes place, there is an official announcement. I do not have any such information to share,” he added.
To a question regarding the Pakistan–Saudi Arabia Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) signed in September, he said security collaboration between Islamabad and Riyadh was longstanding, reiterating that the latest pact had only codified and further elaborated the partnership.
Andrabi maintained the pact should not be interpreted narrowly as the deployment of Pakistani forces, noting that defense cooperation covered a wide spectrum including training, joint exercises and institutional collaboration.
“As I said, it’s an ongoing process,” he said. “You should not read it just in the context of sending your forces. There are training, joint exercises that keep on going. If you interpret training as sending forces, I cannot say that. I mean, sending of forces is a very broad term. But our defense corporation, as I said, is ongoing.”
