London game plan obvious, Nawaz desperate for NRO: Imran

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Tuesday that the "London game plan" has become obvious now as it seems former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is desperate for another National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)-like deal.

The PTI chief, in a series of tweets, said that the former prime minister still wants to retain control of the party and use it to malign the National Accountability Bureau.

Imran alleged that the Nawaz will pressurise the judiciary and military for another NRO.

“He is desperate for NRO to avoid conviction on money laundering and save his Rs300 billion stashed abroad from being frozen,” tweeted Imran.

Imran further said that Nawaz Sharif has no concern how much damage he does to the nation ‘to save his ill-gotten Rs300 billion stashed outside Pakistan’.

The PTI chief didn’t spare Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as well, saying that the premier is reducing Pakistan to a "banana republic". 

Imran also accused Abbasi of defending Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

Nawaz arrived in London from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia late Sunday to hold a high-level party huddle.

The huddle decided that Nawaz would continue as the head of the PML-N but also tone down his tirade against state institutions on the basis of his "unfair trial". 

The former prime minister said that he will return to Pakistan to attend the corruption trial against him on Friday.

Last week, the accountability court hearing corruption references against the Sharif family issued bailable warrants for the former premier in the three references against him as he has lately been a no-show in the proceedings.

The references against the Sharif family pertain to the Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metals Establishment, their London properties and over dozen offshore companies owned by the family.

The hearing was then adjourned until November 3, with the last chance for the former premier to ensure his presence in court.