Nawaz ready to go to prison for principles: Pakistan PM

Islamabad, May 28 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that his predecessor Nawaz Sharif was ready to go to prison for the sake of his principles, a media report said on Monday.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) narrative was of "giving respect to vote" and "performance", Abbasi told Geo News on Sunday.

Ousted from Office by the Supreme Court in July 2017, Sharif has been rigorously campaigning with the slogan "give respect to vote", while at the same time facing corruption references filed against him and his family by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Abbasi said that it was necessary to call a meeting of the National Security Committee to put an end to the situation after the Mumbai attack statement by Sharif.

Nawaz had recently said: "Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can't we complete the trial?"

The Prime Minister also said that it would be difficult for any government to run the state affairs under the current circumstances. 

He questioned how would a country progress, in which the leadership stops making decisions.

"Under the present circumstances, bureaucracy is unwilling to present any summary. Such matters would be resolved through a national dialogue," Abbasi added.