Nawaz Sharif might apply for political asylum: Shahzad Akbar

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Barrister Shahzad Akbar, Adviser to PM on Accountability and Interior, has said that Nawaz Sharif is a convicted criminal, we have to see if British law allows a convicted criminal to stay for more than six months. He also pointed to the possibility that Nawaz might apply for political asylum in Britain.

He said this in a conversation with Dunya News program "Dunya Kamran Khan Kay Saath" on Tuesday. Shahzad Akbar said that Nawaz Sharif’s case was different from other criminals, his extradition request will only be made by the federal government, a process that is already underway. He assured that all legal avenues will be explored.

He said the government was at fault for letting Nawaz Sharif leave the country on humanitarian grounds; we were given the impression that he was in imminent danger. However, he did not get any treatment from London, its atmosphere alone was good enough to revive his health, he added.

The Accountability Adviser said that the decision to allow Nawaz Sharif to leave was taken after consultation with the Medical Board. We were assured that he would return after treatment, for which we got bail bonds from his guarantor. Now, he has to be brought back, Shahzad said.

Moving further, he said the government is committed to its electoral reform agenda and will support every step to make the electoral process more transparent. He said the use of biometric system in the election is mandatory to remove doubts about transparency in manual polling process.

The Advisor said PML-N and PPP leadership should play a more active role in electoral reforms committee of the Parliament, as change would come from the Parliament, not through negative politics. He said the government wants to implement proposed electoral reforms with consensus.

Shahzad Akbar said the federal cabinet has already approved the electoral and constitution amendment bills which are now pending for final approval from parliament.