LAHORE: PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday said the discriminatory action against political parties by NAB could jeopardise the election campaign and create misgivings about transparency of the polls. He said the arrest of Qamarul Islam Raja during the election campaign was highly condemnable as it could put a question mark on holding free and transparent elections.
In a statement, the former Punjab chief minister said such actions against candidates of the political parties during the election campaign were inappropriate, adding that it was imperative for all the institutions to work collectively in conformity with democratic traditions for ensuring free and transparent elections.
He said the PML-N had presented itself in the court of the people who should be allowed to deliver their verdict.
Shahbaz said the PML-N had contacted the ECP under Article 218(3) of the Constitution as it was incumbent upon it to provide a level-playing field to all the political parties for running their campaigns freely and to ensure the holding of transparent and impartial elections.
The PML-N president said the party believed in politics of serving the masses and had presented itself in the court of the people with those credentials. He said the PML-N was the most popular political party of the country and proud of its connection with the masses.
Shahbaz said keeping the political leadership out of the electoral process like that would not augur well for the country. He added that the PML-N did not endorse the disqualification of neither its candidates nor of the opponent political parties.
He said all the institutions of the country should join hands for strengthening democracy in consonance with law and the Constitution. He expressed the hope that the people would give their verdict in favour of the PML-N on July 25 by embossing a stamp of endorsement on its performance.