Nawaz Sharif, family finally get passports

JEDDAH—Wrapping up all controversies behind issuance of passports to Sharif family, government on Wednesday issued passports to family members of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at Pakistan consulate in Jeddah.
They will formally apply for their visas for travel to London on Saturday, said an official from the Port city in western Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan Consulate in Jeddah handed over the passports of Sharif family to family representative Qari Shakil ur Rehman.
Counsel General of Pakistan Masood Akhtar told newsmen that among twenty passports issued to Nawaz Sharif family, fifteen are fresh.
He said Nawaz Sharif’s passport bearing number KF-438248 is valid up to 2008.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif alongwith family members were exiled to Saudi Arabia on December 10, 2000 and government kept their passports in its custody. Following the exile, Sharif family applied for the passports three months later with Pakistan embassy, however government denied hem their passports.
But last week President General Pervez Musharraf as a major breakthrough allowed issuance of passports to Nawaz Sharif and his family members just for the sake of their travel to London for treatment of Hassan Nawaz the ailing son of former prime minister. Meanwhile, it has been learnt that for last two days government lingered the matter of issuance of passports to Mr Sharif because it wanted him to pledge that neither he will start political activities in London nor he will give anti government statements.
But Nawaz Sharif did not accept these conditions and remained stick to his point of view that he should be issued passports without any stipulations therefore government had to issue his passport.—Online