British MP says ex-PM 'forcibly sent' to Jeddah

Islamabad: A British MP of Pakistani descent who accompanied Nawaz Sharif on his journey to Pakistan said yesterday the former prime minister was forcibly deported to Saudi Arabia.

Lord Nazir Ahmad, a member of the British House of Lords, told a news conference he had also filed an affidavit with the petition moved by Sahrif's party in the Supreme Court.

He said he would appear before the court if he was called.

He rejected suggestions that his action amounted to interference in the country's internal affairs, saying he had dual nationality and what he did as a Pakistani was right.

The lawmaker who witnessed the four-hour drama at the Islamabad airport on Monday said Sharif had not signed any document before his expulsion.

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He said that local administration and police did not misbehave with any member of the delegation that accompanied Sharif from London.

Lord Nazir said he had no affiliation with any political party in Pakistan and was only working for the rule of law and democracy in many parts of the world.

He said he had cordial relations with President Pervez Musharraf but disagreed with him over the July Red Mosque operation, the May 12 violence in Karachi and last year's killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti.

He said he would also accompany former prime minister Benazir Bhutto when she returned home from self-imposed exile.

The British MP the government should have allowed Sharif to stay in the country in view of the clear verdict of the Supreme Court. The British lawmaker said he would raise the Nawaz issue in the House of Lords.

Detention: Leaders criticise Saudi 'involvement'

Several Pakistani leaders yesterday criticised what they called the role of Saudi Arabia in the deportation of of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

Among the leaders were Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the Jamat-e-Islami chief who heads religious alliance Muttahida Majlils-e-Amal, senior leader of pro-Sharif All Party Democratic Movement alliance APDM Rasool Bux Pleajo and PML-N's Khawaja Asif.

Talking to journalists at the Supreme Court yesterday, Pleajo, a Sindhi nationalist, said that the way Sharif was deported is an "insult" to Pakistan.

Qazi Hussain, while talking to private Geo television news channel demanded the Saudi government explain why it "detained" Sharif in Saudi Arabia despite the Supreme Court allowing him to return to Pakistan, adding that it amounted to "disrespect".

Asif, who has moved a petition against Sharif's forced deportation in the court, said told the television that the Saudi government had no right to interfere in the "internal matters" of Pakistan.

- Wajid Ali Wajid, Correspondent