LAHORE - Opposition parties yesterday slammed ex-prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif for his tirade against the judiciary and termed it an attempt to divert people’s attention from his corruption.
Opposition leaders asked Nawaz Sharif to face the corruption cases instead of attacking the institutions. They also viewed it a contempt of court and called upon the apex court to take notice of this malicious campaign against the judiciary.
PPP described the Press conference by the ousted Prime Minister a futile attempt to hoodwink the people of Pakistan by laying all the blame on the Supreme Court. PPP’s Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that Nawaz Sharif could not hoodwink the people because they had seen the real face of what he called the “King of corruption” who was involved in so many corruption cases.
“Nawaz Sharif is the person who loved to victimise political opponents and has done so whenever he came to power. He is the person who persecuted Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Al Zardari.
PPP leader recalled that Nawaz Sharif appointed notorious junior officer Rana Maqbool as IG Sindh in the late 1990s who illegally shifted Asif Ali Zardari from prison to CIA Center in Karachi where he was brutally tortured and his tongue was slashed.
Bukhari further stated that Nawaz Sharif divided judiciary and then attacked Supreme Court in the past.
“He is the person who approached Supreme Court against the then Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.”he stated, adding, that Nawaz Sharif was an expert conspirator who did not even spare Muhammad Khan Junejo.
PPP’s central Secretary Information, Ch Manzoor said that a person (Nawaz Sharif) was now talking about sanctity of people’s mandate who had a history of conspiring against the public mandate obtained by his rival political party. “How could a person talk of peoples’ right to rule who himself was an outcome of a rigged election?” he asked, adding, that Nawaz Sharif could no longer befool the people in the name of democracy.
PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry demanded of the Supreme Court to issue directions for placing the name of Nawaz Sharif on the Exit Control List. Addressing a Press conference in Lahore, he said that allowing the disqualified Prime Minister to fly abroad gave a wrong impression about judiciary in a situation when two former Prime Ministers (Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Parvez Ashraf) were also facing NAB cases and their names were on the ECL for six years. He mocked at Nawaz Sharif’s Press conference in which former PM raised questions against his disqualification.
He requested the apex court to take notice of Nawaz Sharif’s Press conference in which the latter made contempt of the court and attacked at the institutions.
“Nawaz cannot give a single satisfactory reply in 134 days long Supreme Court proceedings and 60 days long JIT inquiry against the allegations of billions of rupees money laundering and now he is trying to establish his innocence, maligning the courts and playing politics.”
The PTI leader said that his party would not allow mixing of politics with accountability and confront every conspiracy of the PML-N to malign the judiciary.
To a question, he justified Imran Khan’s demand for early elections, stating that the PML-N was destroying the institutions with every single passing day, and the continuity of present government would make it difficult for the next government to revive the country’s economy and institutions.
He said that PTI was the largest political party and wanted to be the part of consultation process for the next caretaker government. For the purpose, he added, the replacement of Opposition leader of PPP with that of the PTI was necessary.
PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and senior leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in a statement condemned Nawaz Sharif’s “attack” on judiciary and other institutions.
They said Nawaz posed a serious threat to country’s stability and could do anything against it for his personal gains.
“It is the history of Sharifs that they only saved their wealth and destroyed the institutions,” said Chaudhrys.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Senator Sirajul Haq said that the former Prime Minister’s rhetoric against the apex court could not be justified and could not be allowed. He suggested Nawaz Sharif to face the corruption cases instead of attacking the institutions.
The JI chief, however, appreciated the appearance of the ousted Prime Minister before the NAB court and urged the Supreme Court to initiate inquiry against 436 other people named in the Panama leaks to weed out corruption.
He said that from the very first day, JI had been demanding the accountability of all the corrupt people and of those who had plundered public money and the banks as the accountability of only an individual or a few persons would not help achieve the objective.
He said that the people who had properties in London, Dubai, and billions in Swiss banks should be made to bring their ill-gotten wealth to the country.
He said that the JI was striving for a clean and green Pakistan, and urged the masses to join the JI in its struggle.
Pakistan Awami Tehreek spokesperson Noorullah Siddiqui demanded of the apex court to take strict action against the disqualified Prime Minister for making contempt of court.
He also criticised Punjab government for providing VVIP protocol to a “person who had been disqualified on corruption.”
He said that it was a pity that a “corrupt person” received protocol and high security from the government institutions.
PAT spokesperson said that the days of Sharifs were numbered and they would soon go to jail.