The unprecedented support to the Pakistan government given by Saudi Arabias leadership in putting diplomatic pressure on the deposed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to return to Saudi Arabia has been a major shock. This was a major deviation from the Saudi governments policy to stay away from controversial political matters especially those which relate to the internal political affairs of other countries.
The incident indicated that relations between the two countries, which are long-standing and based on shared interests, go beyond normal ideological, political and economic ties. Theirs is a symbiotic relationship characterized by unprecedented understanding and diplomatic good will.
Breaking their usual reticence by issuing statements in support of the Pakistan government and urging Sharif to abide by the undertaking, the Saudi leadership went a step further to exhibit their unstinted support and commitment to Pakistan. Saudi Intelligence chief and brother of King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Prince Muqrin bin Abdal Aziz along with Saad Hariri, son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who had been in contact with the Sharif family over the years were sent as special envoys to Islamabad. The undertaking, one that was denied by Sharif till recently, was that he was to live in exile in Saudi Arabia for a period of 10 years and to abstain from any political activity during that period. It was only in 2006 that he left for England after the Saudi government had checked with Islamabad and allowed him to do so. It is even rumored that former US President Bill Clinton had been involved in securing Sharifs exit at that time, a rumour that has been denied by Nawaz.
Addressing a press conference, Prince Muqrin reiterated the Saudi governments support to Pakistan and even showed the agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Sharif. The agreement, according to him, was aimed at ensuring stability of Pakistan. He expressed the wish of King Abdullah who hoped that for the sake of the national interest of Pakistan that all parties concerned with the agreement will honor and adhere to the terms. The King considered the stability and security of Pakistan as the stability and security of Saudi Arabia. While conceding respect to the Supreme Court and the law of the land, Prince Muqrin reiterated that there was a moral obligation to respect the agreement undertaken by Sharif. In addition to initial denials of any agreement altogether, Sharif, following the press conference addressed by Prince Muqrin and Saad Hariri in Islamabad, even went to the extent of calling Hariri a liar and one who had given him the impression that the agreement specifying the exile period would be amended from ten to five years.
Pakistans Information Minister Durrani had stated that, according to diplomatic norms, even verbal pledges are of prime importance. He said that the Arabs world has a tribal background and they strongly abide by their verbal obligations and even more so on written accords. They cannot even think of breaching their commitment. The arrival of King Abdullahs special emissaries, and their interactions with the media and other entities have quashed the uncertainties about the agreement between the Saudi government and the Sharif family. Reports of Saudi involvement in negotiations on board the aircraft that Sharif traveled in have been strongly denied by the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Ali Auwaz Asweri, who said that the decision to send the former prime minister back to exile on the basis of the agreement was entirely that of the Pakistan government.
By reneging on the agreement, the Sharifs have brought upon themselves and the Saudi benefactors who were acting as his guarantors a great deal of embarrassment. The Saudis acted in good faith and gave assurances that Sharif would comply with the agreement that was reached. Owing to the fact that the Saudi leadership is highly respected, it would have been unthinkable for any Pakistan leadership to have rejected or denied their request.
There have been conjectures that diplomatic pressure from Washington and Pakistan made the Saudi government act in this manner and literally go out of the way and support Islamabad in this matter. Possibly Sharifs return at this juncture when Musharraf faces a hostile judiciary, that is likely to challenge his re-election as President and retention of office of Army Chief, as well as impending parliamentary elections would have posed bigger problems for the government. Linked to all this is the fact that Sharifs return as the leader of a major political party, the PML-N would have upset the election applecart and thrown the Musharraf-Bhutto alliance in the forthcoming election in disarray.
The political chessboard in Pakistan has recently seen the emergence of newly independent and empowered forces in the shape of the media and the judiciary. Some of the factors that prompted Sharif to transgress the agreement of remaining in exile were firstly, the reinstatement of the Chief Justice Ifthikar Mohd Chaudhry after a strong judicial movement and the subsequent independence of the judiciary from governmental pressure, and secondly, the upcoming presidential and parliament elections and the likelihood of a political deal being struck between Benazir Bhutto and President Musharrafs ruling party PML-Q which already seems divided over the arrangement. Sharifs forced re-exile is expected to further ignite an already smouldering political scenario.
Forcibly sent back into exile in Jeddah, Sharif is now expected to remain in Saudi Arabia for the remaining period of his 10-year exile, seven of which have already passed. With his return to his homeland and subsequent return to exile in Saudi Arabia on September 10, an already tense and charged political situation is expected to move towards a head-on confrontation between the government and an empowered and independent judiciary that is already on the warpath. A day after Sharifs forced return to Jeddah, on September 11, a petition under Article 204 of the constitution was filed in the Supreme Court against sending Nawaz Sharif into exile. The petition alleges that Sharif was duped by the government into believing that he would be arrested and face charges of treason and corruption leveled against him in 1999 instead of being re-exiled and charged the government with kidnapping him and violating the Supreme Courts decision. The three cases that were on hold had recently been reopened by the government; these are the Hudebia Paper Mills, Ittefaq Foundry and Raiwind real estate cases. Besides, there are charges of massive embezzlements too. On his abortive attempted return to Pakistan recently Sharif was apparently ready to face imprisonment and charges which had been the reason for his desperate exit, earlier in 2000.
The Saudi leadership is also rumored to have been unhappy with Sharifs political and related activities for a while. Though sources close to Sharif deny the fact, there have been strong rumors as reported in a leading Pakistani newspaper on August 30, 2007 that Sharifs decision to sell the land allotted by none less than King Abdullah for setting up a steel plant near Makkah may not have gone down too well with the royal family. Sharifs have sold the land at a high price to a major local business group which incidentally also bid for Pakistan steel mills
sources in the group maintain that they had paid a sum of 75 million Saudi riyals to the Sharifs as the price for the prime land that the Sharifs had reportedly only paid 5 million riyals to the Saudi government as token price for the land.
The current political scenario in Pakistan is in a state of flux. The political motivation behind sending Sharif back into exile and ignoring the courts decision may prove to be a troublesome matter for the government. As for Sharif himself, it is felt that he has lost the goodwill of the Saudi government who, though they welcomed him back as a guest, are rumored to intend keeping a stricter vigilance on his activities and movements.
Sharifs return and subsequent deportation from Pakistan has inadvertently dragged Saudi Arabia into a controversy, one that it is very careful not to get further embroiled in. However, the display of diplomatic support to the Pakistan government and the steady commitment to being the guarantors of the undertaking proves the depth of Saudi goodwill towards Pakistan and marks a milestone in the diplomatic history of the two states.
