LAHORE - Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique yesterday made another fiery speech against the “forces bent upon sending Nawaz Sharif government packing”.
It was his second speech in past two days in which the outspoken PML-N leader minced no words to lambast the joint investigation team (JIT) probing money laundering cases against Sharif family and the opposition parties, which he said were “playing as puppet in hands of anti-democratic forces”.
His remarks were clear indication that PML-N leaders are anticipating a fatal court decision in the Panama Papers case. As the JIT is set to submit its report next week in the Supreme Court, the criticism from the PML-N hawks on the probe team is becoming severer with every passing day.
Addressing an Eid Milan party at a local hotel in his constituency, NA-125, here on Sunday, Khawaja Saad lashed at every political rival and termed entire episode of Panama papers “a conspiracy against Pakistan”.
As usual he blamed Imran Khan for what he described ‘cutting the tree of democracy while sitting on its branch’. He held equally responsible PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq for joining hands with “the powers who did not want a shining Pakistan”.
Khawaja gave a passing reference of the United States, which, he said, was the part of the game played against Nawaz Sharif in 1999 when General Musharraf imposed martial law and packed the “popular” PML-N government.
According to him, Nawaz Sharif was punished in 1999 for making Pakistan an atomic power and this time he was being taught a lesson for making strong the country’s economy and actively pursuing the project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
“You can throw us out of the government but how you can throw us out the hearts of the people,” he gave a message to the unspecified “forces”, which he believes are out against them.
Those powers were the “real force” devising “evil schemes” against the PML-N government and hatching conspiracies against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the minister said.
He said martial-law of Musharraf was an international conspiracy. Had there been popular government of Nawaz Sharif in 1999, America could not dare enter Afghanistan, he held.
While asserting that independent judiciary was essential if one wants to see the democracy flourishing in the country, he, at the same time, gave “suggestion to the judges not to make popular decision and follow the spirit of law instead”.
This very sentence was being interpreted by analysts as an indirect admission by the PML-N leader that their government has lost popularity, and that people at large deem their leadership corrupt and hence want them to be punished.
Saad also bashed former chief justice Ifikhar Chaudhary for giving ‘popular decisions’. “Where is Iftikhar Chaudhry now? People even forgot his name. His political party has no credibility.”
Turning his guns towards the JIT, he reiterated the allegations against the probe team, and re-raised the issue of WhatsApp call and Hussain Nawaz picture leak.
In the wake of JIT notice to PM’s daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif, he said the entire PML-N leadership appeared before the investigation team despite reservations against it but now the probe team has started serving notices to [our] “daughters”.
“This is painful. But we will accept the apex court decision whether it is in our favour or goes against us,” PML-N leader said. The minister also mentioned that all his remarks were not party policy but his personal views.
A clarification from him was probably felt necessary as Senator Nihal Hashmi of the ruling party is already facing Supreme Court wrath after badmouthing against the JIT and the Panama Papers bench of the apex court.
“It is my responsibility to bring to light the reality and no one can stop us from speaking the truth,” Saad said.
‘Biased’ media
Criticising the electronic media, he said that some channels did allocate most of the time of talk shows to the parties which had less than 30 percent seats in the parliament and the PML-N was not given proper time.
“There are some specific characters in the garbs of journalists who conduct talk shows after getting ‘dictation’ and use inappropriate language against politicians,” he said, and asked “if this character assassination was journalism or politics.”
Praise for CoD
In an apparent effort to woo PPP, which played key role in rescuing the PML-N government during the critical time when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek were staging sit-ins in Islamabad, Khwaja showed his love for the Charter of Democracy (CoD).
The minister said that hate and blame-games had been abandoned after signing of the charter between Benazir Bhutto and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif many years ago.
“Some political puppets were not happy with the CoD at that time and they even criticised it,” he added.
He said that the CoD was one of the best documents of the national history and the goal was achieved after struggle of 60 years by political leadership of the country.
Saad Rafique said the CoD ensures supremacy of the Constitution and it ensures working relationship among national institutions within the ambit of the Constitution.
The minister said that ‘hate-lovers’ do not like the CoD, as it was an agreement of peace and harmony.
PML-N the ‘saviour’
Saad said that the PML-N was one of those parties which struggled against dictatorship and for restoring democracy in the country.
“When we took charge of the government in 2013, there was terrorism everywhere, killings were continuing in Karachi, people of Balochistan were being murdered, the country was facing severe energy crisis, roads were broken across the country and economy was in a shambles,” he said.
The minister said that the Constitution was not fully functional and the institutions were not working in unison. “Now when we are trying to streamline the issues of the institutions, leg-pulling is going on against us,” he complained.
The minister forgot to mention the favours and the close relationship the top leadership of his party had with the dictatorship of General Ziaul Haq, which is considered the worst of all military dictatorships.
Khawaja Saad said that the goal of ‘this freedom’ had been achieved after a long struggle and the PML-N would not allow it to be reversed.
He said that in the local government elections, people once again reposed their trust in the PML-N. “What is the other method to adjudge the will or trust of the people?” he questioned.
Foreign hand in Panama ‘conspiracy’
Saad said after failure of sit-ins and allegations of rigging, the opponents used Panama leaks issue against the PML-N, which was not even acknowledged by the Panama state itself.
He said that there were names of leaders of several countries in the Panama Papers, but nothing happened in those countries. Only one political party was being targeted in Pakistan, he said adding that in fact it was a conspiracy against Pakistan.
The minister probably is unaware that governments in more than 70 countries have launched over 150 investigations and inquires into the affairs of thousands of people and corporations linked to Panama Papers.
Iceland prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned two days after the Panama Papers story first broke. In neighbouring India, a multi-agency taskforce is probing 424 Indian clients of Mossack Fonseca, while an investigation is also going on in the US, the so-called world superpower.
Last month, Malta’s tax office announced it had recovered more than $10 million as a result of investigations sparked by the Panama Papers.
The founders of the firm Mossack Fonseca are in detention since Feb 9 last year and last month Panamanian authorities told a press conference they have a solid case against the firm.
“Prosperity of Pakistan was perturbing its enemies, but now no one can stop us from making progress after initiation of the CPEC project,” he added.
Khawaja Saad Rafique said that India, Israel and the enemies in the garb of friends, knew it well that it would be impossible for any country to take away their Raymonds if Pakistan gets financially strong. “No country will be able to dictate us if we do not beg for financial help from the world,” he added.
The minister said that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif did not bow his head before anyone other than Allah Almighty, and so he was being punished.