LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif, while welcoming the MQM’s decision to join the opposition benches, said on Saturday that the formation of a grand opposition alliance was necessary to get rid of the incumbent PPP government.
He said this while talking to journalists after presiding over his party’s provincial coordination committee’s meeting regarding the reorganisation of the party in Balochistan. Nawaz said unprincipled politics had led Pakistan to troubled waters and that was why it was necessary to rid the country of the present government.
He deplored that the PPP government was not interested in solving the common man’s problems and now this kind of politics would not be tolerated. He said three years had been wasted and no problems had been solved until now. Nawaz said gone were the days when political parties used to deceive people.
About the situation in Balochistan, he said justice should be done to the people of the province and the case of missing persons should be addressed immediately. He said the Baloch people could not be pacified without taking strict and timely action against those responsible for their plight.
About PML-Q chief Ch Shujaat’s statement on the Abbottabad inquiry, he said the politics of give and take would not work now. He said the PML-Q chief’s statement undermining the need for a probe into the Abbottabad incident was beyond comprehension. He said Ch Shujaat must have been handed over a written statement to read it out.
Nawaz claimed that the rigging in Kashmir polls was known to everyone and that the aid given for quake victims was used in the elections.
He lamented that Pakistan’s name was among the failed states (ranked 10th). He said the political parties were considered to be the custodians of the people’s future, but sadly Pakistan’s political parties had been doing quite the contrary. Nawaz said drones were taking off from within Pakistan, but the government was trying to hoodwink the people. The former premier said the party was promoting honest workers who could help the country in the best possible manner.
Earlier, addressing a meeting of the Balochistan PML-N coordination committees, PML-N chief said the PPP government was an obstruction in the transfer of resources to the provinces. He added the provinces were given responsibilities of seven ministries, but the government had retained its stranglehold over the resources.
He said Pakistan sustained huge loss due to injustice in the past also and advised learning lesson instead of repeating the mistakes.
Nawaz said Pakistan’s prosperity was linked to peace in Balochistan and happy, satisfied people of Balochistan were the top priority of the PML-N.
APP adds: PML-N chief Nawaz said the federal government was not handing over resources of the departments devolved under 18th Amendment, terming it a violation of the constitution.
“It is inevitable that the killers of Nawab Akbar Bugti and other innocent people should be brought to the book,” he added. Nawaz said the process of party reorganisation at district level had been completed and teams comprising party workers had been constituted. “The reorganisation of the party at central level will also be undertaken,” he said.
Regarding the Charter of Democracy, he said it was signed in national interest, but it was not implemented in letter and spirit. About the statement of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about Kashmir, he said it was illogical and would affect the peace process, which he had started during his tenure in power.
Online adds: The PML-N has paced up its efforts for forming a grand opposition alliance and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will leave for London today (Sunday) where he is likely to meet Altaf Hussain.
“The PML-N has started making contacts with all opposition parties including the MQM, JUI-F and JI,” the sources said, adding the JI and nationalist opposition parties had assured the PML-N of their support. They said the JUI-F conveyed that it would support the PML-N if it withdrew its opposition leader, adding the PML-N was willing to show flexibility on the issue for the greater cause. The sources said PML-N leaders would also meet with Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan to ask him to join the grand opposition alliance.