Nawaz and brother may return for father's burial

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif are likely to return to Pakistan today for the burial of their father, Mian Mohammad Sharif.

Mian Sharif, 84, died of a heart attack on Friday in Jeddah, where the family has been exiled since December 2000.

Information Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad confirmed to Gulf News yesterday that permission had been granted to Nawaz and Shahbaz to return to Lahore for three days "for the purpose of their father's burial at Raiwind".

Late yesterday, the Pakistani ambassador to Saudi Arabia visited the Sharif family in Jeddah and suggested they request the Saudi government to ask Pakistan to allow the Sharif brothers and Nawaz's wife Kulsoom to return with the body of Mian Sharif.

While all other family members have got permission to attend Monday's burial, Pakistan apparently wants additional guarantees from the Saudi authorities on Nawaz and his brother.