No deal under way in Saudi Arabia: Ahsan

NAROWAL: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has rebuffed the reports claiming that the visit of Sharif brothers to Saudi Arabia was aimed at striking a deal with the establishment.

Talking to the media in Narowal on Sunday, Ahsan said that reports of the British media regarding engagements of the Sharif brothers in Saudi Arabia were completely baseless and out-of-context.

He said the baseless reports were meant to affect the popularity of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The interior minister asserted that at present Pakistan was facing severe threats and conspiracies were being hatched against the country abroad.

He said the all parties conference (APC), convened by Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), and opposition parties was aimed at spreading anarchy in Pakistan and that it would fulfil the agenda of Pakistan’s enemies. Ahsan Iqbal claimed the opposition political fronts wanted to have general elections 2018 postponed out of fear of defeat from the PML-N. –INP

Lahore News Desk adds: Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said the politics of N-League is dying a natural death and any NRO (deal with the establishment) would not be less than a conspiracy against democracy in the country.

He was talking to the party leaders from southern Punjab, Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood and Abdul Qadir Shaheen, at Bilawal House Lahore on Sunday. He discussed with his guests the expected joining of the PPP by various politicians from south Punjab including the Nawab of Bahawalpur family members, Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa from Dera Ghazi Khan.

Another party delegation from Lahore comprising Azizur Rehman Chan, Aurangzeb Burki, and other also met Zardari and discussed future political planning for Lahore and central Punjab. They discussed would-be party candidates from this region for the general election in 2018. Asif Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also fully endorsed the joint declaration of Dr Tahirul Qadri’s all parties conference.