Islamabad:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif accused Pakistan Tareek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan of ‘backstabbing’ him in 2013 by carrying out protest rallies despite assuring him of cooperation after elections, reported Dawn.

Addressing a meeting of the PML-N’s Central Working Committee (CWC) in Lahore, Nawaz said upon assuming power in 2013, he visited Imran at his residence in Banigala and they agreed on a working relationship for the country’s sake.

Nawaz further said Imran, thereafter, went to London along with other political leaders where a “plot was hatched” as per which protests were launched in the country upon the latter’s return, Dawn reported.

Nawaz said he was left befuddled by the development, adding that he should have been informed about the matter or whatever the PTI’s reservations were, according to the report.

“I visit you and you stab me in the back by assuring cooperation, and then you begin protests in Islamabad’s D-Chowk?” Dawn quoted Nawaz as saying.

He added that his cabinet also called for a crackdown on the protests by the police but he asked them to desist, Dawn reported.

The former PM added that it was a ‘matter of record’ that his government had not impeded the formation of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the 2013 elections, despite being in the position to do so through a coalition.

“We call for accountability of those who destroyed and ruined Pakistan,” the PML(N) chief said.

Urging the people to take a judgment call on which political party had served them the best, Nawaz said they should consider these aspects before casting their votes.

“I have the right to ask my nation this question: What do you think, before voting, about Nawaz Sharif’s performance was and what was that of his opponents?…the nation should answer this. I have a slight complaint with the nation as well. A prime minister is removed in a false case of not taking a salary from his son and the nation stays silent, this is not right,” the former PM said.

Addressing the meeting, Nawaz said false cases against the party were ‘exposed’.

Lauding the performance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he also predicted a turnaround in the country’s fortunes going forward, according to Dawn.

Speaking before him, the PM said he was at peace with stepping down as the PML(N) chief and wanted his brother to assume the party’s presidency.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pakistan, in a bid to revive its ailing economy, has introduced a new visa policy to attract business communities from across the world to invest in the cash-strapped country.

The decision was taken in the two-day consultation meeting held under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military hybrid body set up by the previous Shehbaz Sharif Government to tackle the country’s economic woes.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, who chaired the fifth apex committee meeting of SIFC, announced in a recorded message that a new easy visa regime has been approved for foreign businessmen desiring to visit Pakistan.

He said foreign businessmen who want to visit Pakistan would be issued easy visas on the basis of a single document from their country or international business organisations.

“If Pakistan’s chambers of business or business organisations issue a document to a foreign businessman, easy visas will also be issued to them,” the statement quoted caretaker Prime Minister Kakar as saying.

He expressed hope that under this new visa regime, Pakistan would enter a new phase of business and economy.

Later, addressing a press conference with other ministers, caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said that the SIFC was briefed on Pakistan’s relations with China, the United States and other Middle East countries.

He said the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries had shown interest in the investment council.

The GCC countries include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Dawn newspaper, Law Minister Ahmad Irfan Aslam said that in contrast to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that has garnered significant funds from China, Western countries haven’t made definitive commitments to the SIFC yet.

However, he insisted that the SIFC and CPEC had different scopes and sectors for Chinese investment.

While CPEC focuses on roads, infrastructure and energy projects, the SIFC allows China to invest in minerals and other areas not part of the corridor project.

Mr. Aslam said that agreements had reached an advanced level with GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“We will first sign the agreement with Saudi Arabia,” Mr. Aslam said, adding that the signing of the agreement was expected by the year’s end.

In response to a question, the law minister admitted that he was only aware of Indonesia’s interest in investing under the SIFC, while Western and other non-GCC countries have not made any firm pledges yet.