Govt ready to exercise all legal options to bring Nawaz back, says PM

(Karachi) Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government would use all available legal options to bring former premier Nawaz Sharif back from London to face cases in the courts of law, media reported.

Chairing a cabinet meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday, the prime minister said that those involved in corruption will not get NRO at any cost.

Imran said that the government will sought help of British government to bring Nawaz back. He said the PML-N leader fled abroad by making illness as an excuse. The PM maintained that there will be no leniency over corruption for anyone.

He said that the process of accountability will continue without discrimination and the government will not bow down to pressure tactics by the opposition.

Earlier, Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected former premier and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif's petition seeking exemption to appear in the court in Al-Azizia reference case and issued non-bailable warrants against him.

The IHC bench, comprising Justice Amir Farooqui and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, maintained that Nawaz Sharif's bail has expired in the said case. The court ordered the authorities to arrest the PML-N leader and produce him before the court.

On September 20, Nawaz Sharif addressed the All Parties Conference and said that his fight is against "those who selected Imran Khan". Speaking via a video link from London, where the PMLN leader remains for 'health reasons' despite being sentenced to jail in Pakistan, he claimed that those who "followed the Constitution are languishing in jails and facing politically motivated cases."

Former PM Nawaz, who was convicted on corruption related charges by accountability court after a long court battle in the wake of ICIJ's Panama Papers leaks, was allowed to leave jail for London last year due to "serious issues to his health".

The PML-N leader criticized state institutions and accused the government of rigging the 2018 elections.