Several Pakistani ministers on Saturday lashed out at former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for meeting Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib in London, saying the PML-N supremo was a close friend of every enemy of Pakistan.
Mohib recently made headlines in Pakistan for calling the country a brothel, evoking a sharp response from ministers in Islamabad, including from Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi who asked him to “reflect and correct” his behaviour.
Afghanistan’s National Security Council on its Twitter account shared a picture of Mohib and Afghan State Minister for Peace Sayed Sadat Naderi meeting Sharif in London, where he has been living since 2019 for medical treatment.
The tweet said that senior Afghan officials met Sharif to “discuss matters of mutual interest”.
Responding to the meeting, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said: “every enemy of Pakistan was a close friend of Nawaz Sharif.”
Alluding to the government’s decision to let the former premier go to London for treatment, he said it was dangerous as such people become a part of international plots.
Sharif, 71, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London since November 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.
The three-time former prime minister, who was convicted in two corruption cases – Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia – was declared a proclaimed offender last year by the Islamabad High Court after he failed to appear before it despite several warnings.
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari questioned the nature of “matters of mutual interest” discussed in the meeting.
Such shameless self-interest of Sharif to preserve looted wealth & country be damned, she tweeted.
Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz said the meeting was not new as Sharif always kept company with enemies of Pakistan.
Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi said, Sharif violated our stated policy of having no official contact with this despicable fool (Mohib) after his ‘brothel’ remarks.
Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, however, defended the meeting as part of her father’s ideology of peaceful coexistence with neighbours.
“It is the very essence of diplomacy to talk to everyone, listen to their point of view and convey one’s own message across: something this government doesn’t comprehend and hence is a complete failure on the international front,” she said.
Ties between Pakistan and Afghan have plummeted in recent weeks in the wake of the withdrawal of US troops and the resurgence of the Taliban attacks. Pakistan has termed some top officials of Afghanistan like Mohib and Saleh as spoilers.
