SUKKUR - Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah yesterday termed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s call to lock down the federal capital on November 2 illegal.
Speaking to journalists in Sukkur, the senior Pakistan People’s Party leader said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif didn’t know how to run a country and Imran Khan didn’t know how to do politics.
“Any move to shut down a city or any institution is illegal and unconstitutional,” he said. He further stated: “The prime minister is upset, very upset.”
To a question regarding PSP chief Mustafa Kamal’s allegations against Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad, the PPP leader stressed accusations of involvement in the May 12 incident and corruption should be investigated.
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has announced to shut down the federal capital on November 2. Khan has seized on the Panama Papers scandal as a fresh opportunity to try to unseat Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Earlier, the former cricket hero staged a sit-in in Islamabad for months in 2014 over alleged electoral fraud, but failed to topple the PML-N government.
The leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama in April showed Sharif’s sons, Hassan and Hussain, and daughter Maryam, owned at least three offshore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which studied the papers, said these companies had engaged in billions of dollars in property and acquisition deals.
Nawaz Sharif has claimed his children have done nothing illegal, but opponents accuse the family of using the tax haven to launder stolen money and dodge taxes. Online adds: Syed Khurshid Shah said staging protest and dharna was legal and constitutional right of every party, but locking down any city was illegal.
“We consider staging protest and dharna is a constitutional right, but shutting down any city is illegal. We will see on what basis arrests are being made,” he said, talking to media persons. He said PPP had given jobs to thousands of people during its tenure. “The government has failed to evolve prudent economic policies. Unemployment is on the rise. They say they are constructing roads. Will poor and jobless people lick roads? There will be roads and development if there are people,” he asserted.
He alleged the government had obtained loan worth Rs 7,200 billion during the last three years. “Motorway and Port Qasim have been got mortgaged.
There is no medicine in hospitals. Nawaz Sharif is a monarch-like prime minister. He should appear before the Supreme Court,” he said.
Responding to a question, he said: “Democracy strengthens the country and if democracy is under threat, PPP will be on the forefront for its protection.” “Threats are looming large on borders, in this situation an internal war is not in favour of politicians at all,” he averred.
