Use all options to bring Nawaz back: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday directed use of all legal means to bring former prime minister and PML-N Rahber Muhammad Nawaz Sharif back from the United Kingdom adding that it was the responsibility of the government to bring back all those wanted by the courts.

He was chairing an important meeting, which also discussed the opposition’s strategy in the current political situation and the steps to be taken to bring Nawaz Sharif back. Imran said the PML-N did politics on Sharif’s health and the government won’t be blackmailed by the opposition.

“The focus of the opposition is not on national interest but on getting rid of the Sharifs cases,” he said. The strategy regarding the approval of FATF laws in the National Assembly was also discussed during the meeting. The prime minister directed the spokespersons to effectively highlight improvement in the economic situation of the country and said the positive outcome of decisions related to the economy had begun to come. “The focus is now on delivering the benefits of better economic indicators to the people,” he added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday said Pakistan’s economy was on the right track with significant achievements in exports sector and foreign remittances. “This strong turnaround is a result of continuing recovery in exports, which rose 20 % compared to June 2020, and record remittances,” he said in a tweet. “MashaAllah, Pakistan’s economy is on the right track,” Imran Khan said. He mentioned that the current account balance posted deficit of $613 million in July 2019 and a deficit of $100 million in June 2020. In July 2020, current account balance swung upwards to a surplus of $424 million, he added.

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday said Pakistan’s current account balance had swung into a surplus of $424 million in July 2020 after posting a deficit of $100 million in last month. The current account balance improved by 244% in July as compared to the current account deficit of $613 million in same month a year ago. This is the fourth monthly surplus since last October.

Strong turnaround is due to a continued recovery in exports and record-high remittances, with support from several policy and administrativeinitiatives by SBP and government, it added. In July, the oversees Pakistanis transferred record remittances worth of $2.768 billion in the corresponding month which is the highest ever amount for the country in a single month while in same month of last year the remittances were recorded at $2.028 billion.

According to the data, the Current Account Balance without official transfers also witnessed a surplus of $401 million in July as compared to the deficit of $716 million in same month of last year.

Balance of trade in goods plunged by 11.78 percent from $1.968 billion in July 2019 to $1.736 billion in July this year. Similarly, balance of trade in services also narrowed by 13.8 percent to $362 million compared to $420 million in July 2019.

As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the current account balance witnessed a surplus of 1.9 percent in the first month of current fiscal year as opposed to deficit of 2.8 percent in the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary Monday made it clear that his government would not offer any amnesty to any politician such as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif accused in corruption cases.

Talking to a private news channel, Fawad said that those convicted for corruption would not be allowed to go abroad until they would return back the looted national wealth and face the corruption cases pending in courts. “All efforts of escape from accountability will go in vain and the looters will be made to return the plundered wealth of this nation,” he said. “Imran Khan's government will not extend the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to anyone and would not compromise his vision of accountability", he added. “Nawaz Sharif will have to come back and face the law. If Nawaz Sharif is innocent, why he is running away from the laws and the courts. He should come back to the country and answer the allegations against him,” Fawad added.

He said the opposition's threatening to remove PM Imran's government is only to get relief over the ongoing process of accountability but now any attempt to blackmail the government won’t be tolerated. “If we stop accountability against all those looters and plunderers, the country will never become self-reliant,” he mentioned.

He further explained, Nawaz Sharif had gone to England on medical grounds and the permission was given by the court on human grounds so any political pressure on government on the issue of Nawaz Sharif's health would not be tolerated.

Talking to Geo News show 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath', Fawad Chaudhry said that bringing Nawaz back from London won't be that easy, adding that the MQM founder got a man killed in London but we could not expatriate him. He said Nawaz still has got option of plea bargain.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Railways Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed had also expressed government’s inability to bring Nawaz back, saying that they could not bring Shahbaz Sharif’s son Salman Shahbaz and son-in-law back.