Khursheed says Nawaz can survive Panama, Newsleak but not loadshedding; Aitzaz asks Maryam to stop pointing fingers at PPP; Kaira demands PM make public details of his meeting with Jindal; Pankha protest camp against outages set up
LAHORE: PPP leaders have declared that Shahbaz Sharif’s name would be changed with consensus opinion of people not only from Punjab but all across the country over his failure to end power loadshedding in the country even in four years.
Addressing a charged crowd at a protest camp, named ‘Pankha’ Protest Camp, set up by the Pakistan People’s Party Central Punjab Chapter at Nasser Bagh here on Thursday, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah said (Punjab Chief Minister) Shahbaz Sharif had asked the people to change his name if he failed to end loadshedding in one year. He said the name of Shahbaz should not be changed with opinions of just the people of Punjab but of all people across the country.
The opposition leader said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could survive the Dawn Leaks and Panama Leaks but not the loadshedding issue. He said all the pre-poll promises made by the Pakistan Muslim League-N leadership were yet to be fulfilled. Instead of ending the loadshedding, the incumbent government had increased the electricity rates, though fuel prices had gone down in the international market.
He said in order to address the issue of loadshedding, the PPP government had signed agreements with foreign companies. But, after coming to power, the Nawaz Sharif government ended all the agreements meant to address the issue.
He said the PPP, during its tenure, gave the NFC Award as well as autonomy to the provinces. It also restored the Constitution to its original form but the Nawaz government made life miserable for the poor by snatching the basic needs of life, including health, education and employment.
He urged the people of Punjab to stand up against the rulers, who were busy in strengthening their relations with the Indian leadership. He demanded Nawaz Sharif make public the details of his meeting with Indian steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal, and warned that the PPP would not let anyone conspire against Pakistan.
The opposition leader said India was murdering innocent Kashmiris and resorting to firing on our soldiers but the PM was strengthening his relationship with the Indian prime minister. Senior PPP leaders including Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, President PPP Central Punjab Qamar Zaman Kaira, General Secretary Nadim Afzal Chan, Secretary Information Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, former chief minister Punjab Mian Manzoor Wattoo, Samina Khalid Ghurki, Chaudhry Manzoor and others were also present on the occasion.
Khursheed also criticised the Nawaz government over its anti-poor and anti-farmer policies. He alleged that a media cell, headed by Maryam Nawaz, was constantly involved in bugging of all important meetings.
The opposition leader said what the Nawaz government was doing at the moment was totally against the interest of the nation, and all segments of the society like farmers, peasants and labourers.
Speaking on the occasion, senior PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan asked Maryam Nawaz Sharif to stop pointing fingers at the PPP and tell the nation about the wealth of her family abroad. He said the Panama scam clearly exposed the Sharif family regarding its foreign wealth and the way it was misleading the nation.
The PPP leader said the people like Tariq Fatemi and Rao Tehsin were made scapegoats in the Newsleak case, whereas in reality, the trail of the case led to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.
Qamar Zaman Kaira demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tell the nation the real story behind his meeting with Jindal or get ready to face the public wrath.
Slamming the Sharif government for its failure in addressing the issue of loadshedding, Kaira said Shahbaz Sharif had set up a camp at the Minar-e-Pakistan against loadshedding. But, now, when the PPP wants to record its protest, he was denying it permission.
Kaira said the Sharifs always challenge others to prove any corruption against them, but the nation knows how good they are at tampering the record. He said when they were asked to come up with the record of Metro Bus Project, the LDA Plaza was set ablaze and 22 innocent persons were killed in that fire. Similarly, the record of Nandipur and Motorway was also set on fire, he alleged.
Agencies add: Khursheed Shah charged PM Nawaz Sharif with conspiring against the country’s institutions, adding that the conflict between the institutions was not a good sign. He said Nawaz Sharif was harming the country and its institutions.
He said the late Benazir Bhutto had signed agreements of 24,000-megawatt electricity with independent power producers (IPPs) in 1994, but Nawaz Sharif ended these agreements after coming to power and pushed the country into loadshedding. He said the circular debt had reached Rs380 billion.
He said the prime minister was not ready to finalise the new NFC Award even after passage of four years, adding that the government was not ready to strengthen the Federation.
Meanwhile, addressing the protesters, Aitzaz Ahsan said Nawaz Sharif was only interested in saving Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Convoys from different districts of Punjab, including Lahore, joined the protest camp.