SUKKUR: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah has said that Maryam Nawaz would not be the chief minister of Punjab, adding that the assembly might be dissolved if all the PML-N legislators would resign or the individual resignations of PML-N legislators would not reflect upon the assemblies.
He said this on Sunday at the residence of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) local leader Ghulam Rasool Dharaijo in Khairpur. Khursheed Shah said that when Tahirul Qadri was against the PPP, he was good for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and when the PPP supported Qadri’s viewpoint on the Model Town incident, then both Qadri and the PPP were not good for the PML-N. He also said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation should be across the board, but it was only focussed on Sindh.
Speaking about US President Donald Trump, Khursheed Shah said that the majority in the US was not supporting Trump’s decision of declaring Al-Quds as Israel’s capital, adding that US President Trump was attempting to send the US to war.
Talking about Imran Khan, he advised Khan to first rescue his home, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and then come to Sindh and other provinces. Shah was of the view that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did not have deep roots in Sindh as it could never gather more than seven to eight thousand supporters at any of its public meetings in the province. “It was not even as popular in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it had been in 2013,” he added.
Commenting on the various issues confronted by the ruling PML-N, the senior PPP leader said that all these issues could have been sorted out and resolved within the elected houses, but ousted prime minister Sharif never paid attention to wise advice.
He said that the issue of contaminated water was not only was faced by Sindh, but it was also faced by Punjab. “But the media was only highlighting the water contamination issue in Sindh.”
Shah said: “Hype had been created by leaders and activists of the ruling and opposition parties, causing absolute uncertainty over the government’s future. So much so that the Senate sought answers to the questions which had constantly been raised by such elements. Even the speaker of the National Assembly had once jumped onto the bandwagon, adding to the already confusion-infested political atmosphere.”
Lauding the role of elected houses, Shah pointed out that the issue of delimitation was settled when the PPP played its due role in the larger interest of the country and democracy. On the other hand, he noted, the PML-N and PTI were still continuing with their demonstrations, public meetings and other such events to propagate their respective stances on various issues. “None of the two parties or their likes is going to benefit from such things,” Shah said.
In reply to a question, he said that an impression was created that relief was provided to the PML-N in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case and to the PTI in the case of its chairman’s disqualification. “Such an impression to prove that the judiciary tried to balance its treatment only added to the prevailing uncertainty,” he said. “The judiciary gives verdicts only on merit.”
The senior PPP leader was also asked about the possibility of his party’s electoral alliance with any other party in the next general elections. Shah said there could not be a final word in politics. “There is always a room for dialogue with any party—be it the PML-N, PTI or some other party—in the greater interest of the country, nation and democracy,” he said.
About the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the PPP leader observed that it was currently facing the worst-ever organisational crisis. He said that the party stood divided among several factions.