'Nawaz Was Offered PM's Post By Zardari In 2010'
Malik Riaz, the real estate developer and a close confidant of President Asif Ali Zardari, has claimed that Mian Nawaz Sharif was offered half of the term in the government during early 2010 but he did not agree to it.
 Talking to a daily newspaper, Malik Riaz said that the proposal was to get Mian Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif or Ishaq Dar as the prime minister replacing Yousuf Raza Gilani but it did not materialise. "We had been negotiating for almost months but the PML-N did not agree to this," he said, adding that there was no pre-condition involved in the offer. He said he held meetings with Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar to convince them to become the prime minister and even take their choice for cabinet slots.
Asked if there was any condition like ignoring the NRO cases involved in these backdoor negotiations, he said there was no pre-condition. The PML-N, he said, was offered to rule the second half of the five-year term and do what they thought was good for the country.
Malik Riaz, who also has close relations with the Sharif brothers, particularly the Chief Minister Punjab and his sons Hamza and Suleman, said that besides Pakistan these power-sharing negotiations were also held in London during Nawaz Sharif's foreign visits.
Malik Riaz said that either of the three leaders, Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif or Ishaq Dar, was acceptable as the prime minister but despite this unconditional offer the PML-N leadership did not give a positive response. Later, he said, the government was left with no option but to join hands with the PML-Q.
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