LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that some elements, through their attack on Islamabad, tried to humiliate the democratically-elected Parliament but they faced disgrace due to unity of all political parties.
He said he is sure that after Javed Hashmi, several leaders of the PTI would display the same moral courage so that historians while writing the political history should not count them among the enemies of Pakistan.
He was talking to a delegation of the PML-N assembly members here on Wednesday.
The CM said that Imran Khan through collusion with Tahirul Qadri announced political death of the PTI and it is also a fact that the PTI leadership is disgusted with the party chairman due to his autocratic and undemocratic attitude, and is leaving the party raising slogans of ‘Go Imran Go’. He said that the U-turns taken by Imran Khan from long march to sit-in are unprecedented in the political history of the country, and that is why he is now politically isolated. He said that the determination expressed by all political parties during the joint session of the Parliament to protect the democracy and constitution and to uphold law is the voice of the whole nation. He said that indeed the political maturity shown by the political parties at this critical juncture of history augur well for the stability of democratic system.
Shahbaz welcomed the speeches made by various political leaders during the joint session of the parliament regarding protection of the democratic system and while paying tributes to them said that it is a historic event in the political history of the country. He further said that Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri came on roads to set a trend of politics of agitation, but the people have given their verdict by rejecting this style of politics. He said that every patriotic Pakistani has strongly condemned the attack on the Parliament, PM House and PTV building. He said that the elements trying to damage the democratic institutions should know that if Pakistan faced instability, both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri would be held responsible.
Shahbaz said that if Imran Khan really wanted a change in the country, he should have started the process immediately after taking over power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May 2013. He further said that in democracy, decisions are not made on streets but in Parliament and the PML-N government has always been in favour of resolving political issues through dialogue. He said that from long march to sit-in, the government has displayed patience and restraint at every stage and it would continue doing so in future as well.