Idol of honesty, trust dismantled: Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the Election Commission of Pakistan had delivered “justice” following its verdict issued in the Toshakhana reference and disqualifying PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The prime minister took to Twitter to share his reaction to the verdict. “The Election Commissioner has delivered justice in the Toshakhana reference. The nation witnessed how [Khan] turned the prime minister’s position into a source of his personal income to commit corrupt practices. The idol of honesty and trust has been dismantled,” the premier wrote, criticising the PTI for fighting against the law and bringing riotous groups holding bullets/sticks onto the streets instead of bowing before the law.

“No one is above the law,” the premier added. Pakistan Democratic Movement president and JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that “the mastermind of indecency” has come to an end and he has been exposed as a “dacoit and a thief.”

He told a press conference after a meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement on Friday that “Today is a blessed day in the sense that before the first session of the PDM, the nation got rid of a fitna.”

The meeting was also attended by PMLN chief Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, who participated through a video link, besides other leaders of the PMLN and representatives of parties that are part of the PDM.

It was the first meeting after the formation of the coalition government. The PDM resolved to hold a general election at its own time. The Maulana said it was a shame that the gift of a head of state was sold in the market and the same watch reached from the shopkeeper to its original owner.

He said Imran Khan had pushed the country into an economic quagmire and his aides had brought the country to the point where it was close to being blacklisted and bankrupt.

In a reply to a question, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that politicians should compete with each other in politics and that this process of disqualification should end. “We have moved Pakistan from the grey to the white list of FATF,” he said.

The PDM chief said that the economic policies of Pakistan are going in a positive direction, but we believe that the effects of the policies will take some time to reach the people. The world is acknowledging that the country’s economy has started its journey towards improvement.

Pakistan People’s Party Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Imran Khan has been caught red-handed. Bilawal took to Twitter shortly after the Election Commission of Pakistan announced its decision, writing on his account that the Election Commission of Pakistan had found Imran Khan guilty of corrupt practices.”He now stands disqualified,” he wrote.

He said whoever would spread lies about the alleged corruption of his political opponents has been caught red-handed. Minister for Climate Change and PPP Vice-President Sherry Rehman said that Imran Khan’s disqualification is a legal and constitutional issue and the PTI should not try to give it a different colour.

She said Imran Khan is not the first politician who has been disqualified. The other political parties that are part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement have welcomed the verdict.

However, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan, Pak Sarzameen Party, Grand Democratic Alliance, and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen Pakistan, among other parties, didn’t react to Imran Khan’s disqualification

The Awami National Party’s Sindh President, Shahi Syed, congratulated the nation and said: “The election commission has declared Imran Khan as a certified thief. Imran Niazi, who accused others of theft and corruption, has proven himself to be a chief of thieves.” Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s Sindh Senior Vice-President Ali Akbar Gujjar and PMLN Karachi Division Secretary-General Nasiruddin Mahmood said that the ECP decision is actually a milestone in the country’s struggle for the rule of law. JUIF Sindh spokesperson Maulana Samiul Haq Swati said that the ECP has taken a historic decision against a person who considered himself above the law.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira said: “We all must respect the decisions of the courts and the election commission. Imran Khan has faced a moral defeat. “He said Imran’s “fascist attitude” was dangerous for democracy.