Vawda rules out any agenda of ousting or weakening Shehbaz govt

ISLAMABAD: Senator Faisal Vawda, who is known for his connections with the establishment, has said that his meetings with different political parties are not aimed at weakening or ousting the Shehbaz Sharif government.

Talking to The News, he said, he only wants the government to respect the mandate of all its coalition partners. Vawda also offered that he is ready to play the role of a bridge for dialogue between the government and the PTI to bring an end to the politics of protests and sit-ins.

When asked if he has been asked to do all this by the establishment, Vawda said that he has neither been told to do this nor asked to stop doing it. The Senator said that if the government does not respect the mandate of other coalition partners like PPP, MQM, BAP, it will remain unpopular. If the government wants to strengthen itself then it will have to respect the mandate not only of all its coalition partners but also of the opposition.

He said that his meetings with different political parties have upset many in the government without realising or appreciating what he is doing. Referring to the statement of Rana Sanaullah, who in a recent TV talk show had suggested offering a slot in the federal cabinet to Vawda to satisfy him, the Senator said that if he wanted one he would have got it without any problem.

“I am not here to oust the Shehbaz Sharif government. Neither do I have any agenda of weakening the government,” he said, adding that his agenda is to serve Pakistan by strengthening the system.

Regarding the PTI, he said that the party is desperate for the deal. He said that he is willing to play the role of a bridge for initiation of dialogue between the government and the PTI. The politics of protests, sit-ins and violence needs to end for the prosperous future of Pakistan and its people.

Regarding Imran Khan, he repeated his allegation that Imran Khan’s life is threatened by his wife Bushra Bibi and some others in the PTI. He, however, made it clear that neither does he intend to re-join the PTI nor wants anything from jailed PTI leader Imran Khan.

The Senator, who sits in the treasury benches in the upper house, disclosed that in the coming days and weeks he will meet other political parties and their leaders including TLP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Khalid Magsi and others.

Of late Faisal Vawda has become the focus of the media mainly because of his meetings with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Bilawal Bhutto and top MQM leadership. His meetings led to different speculations about the future of Shehbaz government.