By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan's prime minister has been backed into a corner by a request from the country's on-trial former military ruler to travel to Saudi Arabia, to pay respects to the former king, despite a travel ban.
General Pervez Musharraf is facing trials for murder and high treason but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is wary that denying the request could potentially harm relations with Saudi Arabia, as Musharraf was close to former King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
“The prime minister is facing a situation like between the devil and the deep blue sea,” a cabinet member told The Anadolu Agency, on condition of anonymity.
“If the prime minister allows Musharraf to fly, it will be a violation of the Supreme Court’s directives and if he does not, his relations with Saudi royal family may be hurt,” the cabinet member said.
Sharif held a meeting with some of his closest cabinet ministers over whether to grant Musharraf's request but it was not able to reach any decision.
Sharif is already facing pressure over a fuel and energy crisis that crippled the country for close to a week.
Musharraf had allowed Sharif to live in exile in Saudi Arabia from 2001 to 2007 on the request of the late King Abdullah.
Pakistan’s widely-circulated Urdu daily Jang reported on Tuesday that the government had decided to reject Musharraf’s request but that it would not oppose any decision by the Supreme Court to grant the request.
On the other hand, Musharraf’s lawyer Ahmed Raza Kasuri told reporters that the former military ruler would fly to Saudi Arabia in next 24 to 48 hours.
Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, is facing high treason charges for imposing a state of emergency in the country in November 2007.
He has also been charged, and on bail, in the murder cases of the former Prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a former senior provincial chief minister and the Imam of Islamabad's Red Mosque.
