ISLAMABAD -  Opposition leader Khurshid Shah on Tuesday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) went berserk in the National Assembly against the “Nawaz Sharif-specific” law the other day only to hide their blunder in the Senate last week that saw the surprise passage of the Election Bill 2017 in the Senate.

Speaking to journalists here, Shah said that the PTI and the MQM were just dramatising the situation after their covert support for the Election Bill 2017 that paved the way for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to get re-elected as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief.

“We need to investigate the role of the PTI and the MQM in the Senate. They staged protest in the National Assembly where the government has a majority and remained silent in the Senate where the opposition could have stopped the Bill,” he added.

Nawaz Sharif was re-elected unopposed as the PML-N President for four years in the intra-party elections on Tuesday.

Sharif was removed as the party chief by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in July after his disqualification as the premier by the Supreme Court.

On Monday, the National Assembly passed the Election Bill 2017 after its approval in the Senate.

President Mamnoon Hussain signed the Bill into law hours later.

The PML-N’s Central Executive Council had already given approval to amend the party constitution to facilitate the election of Nawaz Sharif. Before the amendment, any person who was not eligible to become a member of the National Assembly was not qualified for any party position. 

The opposition parties have condemned Sharif’s election as the PML-N chief saying a disqualified person should not lead a party, especially the ruling party.

The PTI has threatened to challenge the new law in the Supreme Court as it contradicted the articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Shah said a new law for an individual was a joke with the constitution.

“Such steps are detrimental to the importance of the parliament. Laws should be for all citizens not aimed at facilitating individuals,” he added.

The opposition leader said that he contacted the PTI and the MQM for consultations over the name of a new National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief but they did not respond.

“We cannot wait for them. The process must continue. What can we do if they do not give a name,” he contended.

Separately on Tuesday, PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said Nawaz Sharif’s speech after his controversial re-election as the PML-N chief threatened a confrontation among institutions.

“Nawaz Sharif is not fighting for democracy but is engaged in a battle for his own survival. He is trying to politicise a judicial decision,” she said.

After his election as the PML-N president, Sharif had said that the authority to elect or oust someone from power should be in the hands of the people.

Sharif claimed he was not ousted on the basis of corruption by the Supreme Court but his United Arab Emirates iqama (work permit).

Sherry Rehman said that the Sharif family spent their whole life opposing the Bhutto family but were now referring to the Bhuttos for personal gains.

The PPP leader said that Sharif was no match to the Bhuttos who rendered matchless sacrifices for the cause of democracy.

The lawmaker said that there was no conspiracy against the Sharif family and they were upset as they were being held accountable.

“Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto laid down their lives for democracy, while Nawaz Sharif is fighting for power. There is a huge difference,” she remarked.

The PPP leader said that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had warned against the clash between the institutions, which indicated he was not satisfied with his leadership – Nawaz Sharif.

She said that Sharif was proposing a grand national dialogue but never showed any sincerity with the charter of democracy that he signed with Benazir Bhutto.

“The PML-N always conspired against the PPP. They tried to topple the PPP governments. Who was behind Yousaf Raza Gilani’s ouster [as the Prime Minister in 2012]?” she questioned.

Without naming PTI leader Imran Khan who faces a disqualification case, Senator Rehman said Nawaz Sharif had bulldozed a law through the parliament for his own election as the PML-N chief but in the days to come some other leaders could also benefit from it.

The legislator said that the PTI and the MQM lent help to the PML-N to rush the bill through the parliament.

“The PPP tried to stop the bill but lost due to the number games. The law is aimed to avoid disintegration of the House of Sharifs,” she maintained.

PPP Information Secretary Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed said that Nawaz Sharif was unsuccessfully trying to become “a Bhutto”.

He alleged that Sharif had a dual personality.

Ahmed said Nawaz Sharif had started to promote reconciliation and directed Shehbaz Sharif to abuse other parties.

“This is the double standard,” he said.

The PPP leader said that Sharif had in the past joined hands with former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry “who was a political judge.”

“There will be no dialogue with the people who brought a new law to save an individual,” he added.