Pakistan Interior Minister to quit

Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar on Thursday vowed to quit politics and end his association with the ruling PML-Nawaz if and when the Supreme Court rules on the Panama Papers case involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

"The day the Supreme Court announces its verdict, I will resign and will never fight any election (after that)," Nisar said, adding he was addressing an "extremely difficult" press conference of his life.

"Someone who gave 33 years to (PML-N) cannot leave it just like that. But my 33 years worth of service seems to be reaching an end. It gives me great satisfaction that nobody believed I would leave: even my opponents wouldn't believe it," Geo TV quoted him as saying.

Nisar said he was a victim of internal intrigues and for the past month and a half, "I was suddenly excluded from the PML-N meetings... I was not invited to consultative meetings".

The news conference came hours after Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif -- the beleaguered Prime Minister's brother -- met Nisar in Islamabad, a second meeting between the two party leaders in less than 24 hours.

Shahbaz Sharif was reportedly accompanied by other PML-N leaders including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

"I was told by senior leaders not to do this press conference. I told them I had to," said the minister.

Pakistan's top court has reserved its verdict in the case relating to the Sharif family's alleged illegal offshore wealth revealed by the Panama Papers. The Sharif family has denied any wrongdoing.

--IANS

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