ISLAMABAD – Deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that hecould have ousted the intelligence chief who asked him to resign or go onextended leave but avoided it in larger interests of the country.
The three-time prime minister stated while talking to journalists when aquestion in this regard was pitched. “I displayed tolerance and courage atthat time,” he added.
In a response to a question why he made Mushahidullah Khan and PervaizRashid resign as ministers, Nawaz said that demanding resignations fromthem was also part of this forbearance and tolerance.
Senator Mushahidullah Khan had resigned from the post of Federal Ministerfor Climate Change a day after BBC Urdu published his interview in which healleged that former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. GenZaheerul Islam Abbasi had tried to stage a coup during 2014 sit-ins.Pervaiz Rashid had resigned as information minister following Dawn leakscontroversy.
Referring to his yesterday’s bombshell, Nawaz said that everything has timeto happen and facts should have been made public.
Talking about media coverage of his statement, Nawaz said that he wassurprised that media broadcasted his whole statement. It is the right ofmedia to display everything.
*‘Spy Chief Asked Me to Resign’*
In shocking revelations, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif claimed that amessage from the head of an intelligence agency was conveyed to him during2014 sit-ins, with the recommendation of asking him to resign or go on anextended leave.
Sharif revealed this during his testimony at the accountability court inAvenfield reference, filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inthe light of the Panamagate verdict.
He said that challenges and pressure ramped up on him as the treason casewas initiated against former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. Headded that corruption references against him were the punishment of thecase against Musharraf.
Without sharing the name of the intelligence agency, Nawaz said he wentupset when he received the message from an employee of an institutiondirectly worked under the prime minister.