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Sharief's son denies seeking Vajpayee's intercession

Hasan Nawaz, the 23-year-old son of deposed Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharief, has vehemently denied that he ever appealed to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to save his father's life. ''I never ever spoke to Mr Vajpayee, leave alone appealing to him to save my father's life. Neither have I written any note to him,'' he told the Dubai-based Khaleej Times.

Hasan Nawaz is in Dubai on a short visit to the United Arab Emirates, apparently to seek support for a fair trial for his imprisoned father. He said, ''Mr Vajpayee, as a responsible person, was morally obligated to clear the lies being floated around. This is all being planted to harm my father and family.'' Nawaz, however, acknowledged that he had written to United States President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other world leaders to see that his father got a fair trial.

Soon after the military coup in Pakistan on October 12, reports in the media suggested that the son of the deposed prime minister had written to Vajpayee, appealing to him to save his father's life.

The newspaper said the immaculately-dressed young man looked composed though at times turned emotional during the interview. Hasan said he and his elder brother were never involved in any kind of political or commercial activities. ''It is an irony my father had assured me that he would be present at my graduation day on November 19 and that was the day he was brought to the Karachi court, he was not even allowed to speak to me,'' he added.

Hasan said he intended to travel to Saudi Arabia and some other countries in the Middle East. ''We fear nothing, this is a trial from Allah for the family, all we seek is an open and fair trial and the presence of international observers,'' he remarked, adding, ''My mother told me after meeting my father in the court that he was in high spirits and that he told her that he would fight back for justice and honour.''

Meanwhile, reports from Lahore said Nawaz Sharief wanted his party leaders to meet workers and supporters and inform them about the real situation which led to his government's ouster, truth about the hijacking case and the disinformation campaign carried out against the party leadership. One senior leader of Sharief's party quoted the deposed prime minister as saying that public prosecutors wanted more time to file formal charges because the government was looking for more approvers. He said that since the military rulers did not find anything against him, they were not able to complete the case.

UNI

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