Sharif was tricked and forced to fly back to Saudi Arabia: NYT

The New York Times in its report has said that former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was tricked and forced to fly to Saudi Arabia.

Washington, Sep1 3 : The New York Times in its report has said that former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was "tricked" and forced to fly to Saudi Arabia.

He did not do so willingly or knowingly, contrary to government claims.

The NYT said that friends and relatives of Sharif would fight his case in the courts and demand that the government allow him back to Pakistan to give his version of the events of September 10.

The newspaper quoted Syed Abida Hussain of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) as saying that if Begum Kulsoom Nawaz returns, she could bank on a sympathy vote and could easily sweep Central Punjab in the elections.

Commenting on the reaction on the streets to the Sharif's deportation, the NYT said that it has been "muted," with much of the leadership of Sharif's party and some other opposition leaders still in detention or under house arrest.

The manhandling of Sharif by security forces at the Islamabad Airport was also not positively perceived in the country, the paper claimed, adding that it would play against Mushjarraf in the coming weeks and months.

Fakhruddin Ebrahim, Sharif's lawyer, said that his client was deported illegally.

"He was abducted and forcibly deported. The government is a party to the abduction and has flouted the Constitution and the Supreme Court," he charged.

Hamza Sharif said his uncle was taken onto a plane and told that he was being flown to Karachi or Quetta. He was later informed in mid-flight that he was actually being taken to Saudi Arabia.

"He never wanted to leave this country" and is in high spirits, the Daily Times quoted Hamza, as saying.

Sharif would remain in Saudi Arabia in the hope that the government would be forced to bring him before the Supreme Court, Hamza said.

ANI