As deliberations continue within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) whether or not to remove Pervez Musharraf's name from the Exit Control List (ECL), paving the way for him to travel abroad intense speculation is rife in the federal capital that the recent $1.5 billion Saudi "gift" to Pakistan maybe contingent on allowing former President Pervez Musharraf to leave the country.
While previously there was speculation that the 'Saudi gift' was contingent on a change in Pakistan's foreign policy with respect to Syria a fresh debate began after Musharraf filed an application with Interior Ministry requesting the removal of his name from the ECL for his possible exit to a friendly Arab country.
Although, the government has repeatedly clarified that there are no strings attached to the Saudi grant, yet Pakistan's increasing ties with the Saudi-led GCC bloc has raised many questions following a spilt in the Arab League on Egypt and Syria with Qatar, a strong supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and al Qaeda-linked militants in Syria, in the opposing camp.
To discuss the situation in the aftermath of the special court verdict in which Musharraf was indicted, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif convened a meeting of senior party leadership on Tuesday in which insiders said that besides Musharraf's issue the overall political situation also came under discussion.
Among others, Minister for Defence Khwaja Mohammad Asif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Parvaiz Rashid, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minster for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Opposition Leader in KP Assembly Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan, Special Assistant Irfan Siddiqi and Khwaja Zaheer attended the meeting.
A senior PML-N leader who requested not to be named confirmed to Business Recorder that Musharraf's issue also came under discussion at a high level meeting of the party's senior leadership. However, he refused to give more details and also declined to comment on speculations linking the Saudi $1.5 billion gift with granting Musharraf a safe passage. "Musharraf is standing trial for his actions against this nation. It makes no sense to link it with any foreign aid," he said, adding that the Prime Minister will continue to make consultation on the issue of removing Musharraf's name from the ECL.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) central leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmad had previously stated that the Saudi grant was not just a grant but was conditional to granting a safe passage to Musharraf. However, when contacted JUI-F spokesperson Jan Achakzai said that it was Hafiz Hussain Ahmad's personal view, saying that the party believed that linking the Saudi's grant with Musharraf's release was speculation.
He further stated that if people are not concerned with the conditional aid coming from United States under USAID then why do they raise eyebrows when assistance is coming from a brethren Islamic country - Saudi Arabia. Kamil Ali Agha, secretary-information Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), expressed serious doubts over the Saudi grant, saying that apprehensions will remain and gather momentum until the government comes up with the written conditions attached to the $1.5 billion Saudi "gift". Commenting on the speculations linking the gift to allowing Musharraf to go abroad, he said that there are doubts in many minds and the government needs to bring the real facts before the nation if any condition is attached to the grant.
Brigadier Masood (Retd), General Secretary, Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Association (PESA), representing 15,000 retired army personnel, while talking to Business Recorder did not rule out the possibility of a deal between the government of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on allowing Musharraf to go abroad. Citing Saudi influence on the country's politics in the past, he said that the Saudi government had also intervened unsuccessfully to save former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from execution and successfully allowing Nawaz Sharif and his family to travel to Jeddah in 1999.