ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was not indispensable for democracy.
PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bokhari, while addressing a news conference here said that heavens would not fall if the premier resigned.
“Unfortunately, PM Nawaz Sharif thinks without him there will be no democracy. This is not the case. Democracy will survive even if Nawaz Sharif quits. He is not indispensable,” Bokhari, the former Senate chairman, said.
The PPP leader said that everybody was surprised to see the prime minister’s statements where he claimed that he did not even know anything about the allegations against him in the Panama Papers case.
“I think they should read the joint investigation team (JIT)’s report carefully and they will know what they are accused of. Now even a layman knows what the Sharif family is accused of and how the JIT has exposed them,” he added.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has rejected the opposition’s calls to quit, told his party leaders on Friday that there was not a single word against him in the report submitted by the JIT in the Supreme Court regarding the Panama Papers case.
A day earlier, Sharif assured his cabinet that the “conspirators” will not be able to push him out of the office.
He said that those demanding his resignations had been rejected by the masses in the elections.
Also on Friday, opposition parties failed to develop consensus over Prime Minister Sharif’s resignation.
The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) were of the view that seeking resignation from Sharif before apex court’s verdict in Panama leaks case was unjustified.
The PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – the two main opposition parties - insist Sharif had himself promised to resign if any wrongdoing was proven against him.
Bokhari said if Nawaz Sharif still had evidence to save himself, he should move the Supreme Court but he did not have any moral or legal ground to stay in power. “He has the right to defend himself. He can go to the Supreme Court but he should not stay in the PM’s House any longer. He should quit as the people do not want to see him in power,” he maintained.
Bokhari threatened to adopt “other ways” if Nawaz Sharif did not resign.
“He has a chance to quit honourably but after some time it may become difficult for him. We know other ways also [to force him out]. Nawaz Sharif will have to face the consequences,” he contended.
The former Senate chairman said that only the PPP had made sacrifices for democracy, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had enjoyed power for decades.
“Nawaz Sharif doesn’t seem to trust anybody in his own party. [PPP chief] Bilawal [Bhutto Zardari] had demanded his resignation soon after the JIT report was submitted in the Supreme Court. Nawaz Sharif has no chance,” he added.
Bokhari said that even after Sharif’s resignation, the process of Sharif family’s accountability should not come to a halt.
“They have looted the country and must be held accountable. Resignation is just a first step,” he remarked.
Bokhari, while referring to PM Sharif’s claims that a “conspiracy” was being hatched against his government, said, “If there actually is a conspiracy, the PM should name the conspirator. Just giving statements will not be enough.”
He said that the Hudabiya Paper Mills case was closed under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
“The PM however, says he never accepted the NRO. This is a contradiction,” Bokhari pointed out.
Earlier, Bokhari had an argument with the security officials of the Zardari House when the guards stopped the PPP activists from entering.
The PPP leader said that if the activists were not allowed to enter, he would also leave the premises.
“The political parties cannot be run this way. I am the secretary general of the party and you are not listening to me,” he said, as he walked towards his vehicle to drive back home.
The security administration later apologised to him and allowed the PPP activists to enter Zardari House to attend the news conference.