Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that allowing his predecessor Nawaz Sharif to leave the country was a “mistake” and that his government “regretted” the decision. In a wide-ranging interview to ARY News on Thursday night, Khan hinted that he was pressurised into sending Sharif abroad, saying that the reports presented to his government suggested that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) supremo was severely ill, reports Dawn news.
The federal cabinet, he said, had held a long debate over whether the government should let Sharif leave on humanitarian grounds.
The Prime minister further said the court had declared that the government would be responsible, should anything happen to Sharif.
The premier also recalled that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif submitted indemnity bonds worth 7 billion PKR, promising the former leader would return to the country.
Khan’s remarks came after Adviser to the Prime Minster on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar on August 22 said that the government has approached the UK for Sharif’s extradition after he was declared an “absconder”. (IANS)