Nawaz Sharif accuses MP Hariri of lying

Source: Al-Manar, 9-9-2007
Exiled Pakistan`s prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday renewed his commitment to land at the Islamabad Airport tomorrow (Monday), accusing Lebanese MP Saad Hariri, son of assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, of telling lies at a press conference in Islamabad.
Nawaz, in a hurriedly-called press conference, wondered how Hariri could accuse him of returning to Pakistan in violation of the agreement. He told media persons that Hariri himself had said "sorry" to him in his recent meetings in London for failing to ensure the actual understanding, according to which he (Nawaz) was supposed to return to Pakistan in December 2005.
Nawaz reportedly decided to address the media after he came to know that Hariri had addressed a press conference in Islamabad in which he strongly backed Musharraf's agenda. In a new twist to the saga, Nawaz said he had accepted the exile for five years after Hariri himself had given him a firm commitment in his Attock Jail cell that he would return to Pakistan in 2005.
Nawaz claimed that he was not allowed to move out of Saudi Arabia by the Musharraf regime, as the Pakistan government did not issue their documents but he did not give any detail whether he was a "hostage" in Jeddah at the hands of the Saudi rulers.
The PML Quaid said that he had already written a letter to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in which he had explained the whole situation arising after his decision to return to Pakistan on September 10. Nawaz gave his account of secret understanding that was reached between him and the Saudis in the dark cell of Attock Fort, which ultimately led to his release from the jail.
The PML leader said that actually when he was in the Attock Fort, Saad Hariri had visited him there with a document of understanding which said that Nawaz would be required to stay abroad in exile for 10 years. He said, on his insistence, Hariri went back to consult with Crown Prince Abdullah (now King Abdullah) who, too, agreed that 10-year period was very long. Nawaz said he proposed that the exile should be only for five years. He said the crown prince fully agreed to his proposal. However, when Hariri returned to his cell, he told him (Nawaz) that he should not worry about the revised understanding, as he would take care of it afterwards. He told Nawaz that the most important thing was to get out of the cell instead of sitting there and waiting for revision of the document, clearly stating that he would be back within five years.
Nawaz said he believed in Hariri's words. He said, according to the understanding, he could leave Saudi Arabia after landing at Jeddah but the understanding was not fully honored as he was neither allowed to return to Pakistan after five years nor he could go out of Saudi Arabia. Nawaz said he had raised the issue of his return to Pakistan with Hariri after five years in exile in Saudi Arabia but he had offered him some excuses which he thought were responsible for delay in execution of the verbal understanding and his return to Pakistan in 2005. Hariri had told him that actually the 9/11, murder of his father in Lebanon and some other issues had kept him busy so he could not get this understanding revised.