Sindh Assembly demands PM’s resignation

KARACHI: Provincial Assembly of Sindh for the second time in a year on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution, demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to immediately step down as he had lost the moral authority to rule the nation in the wake of findings of the Joint Interrogation Team (JIT) report submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan a few days ago.

Two separate resolutions in this regard had been submitted by Khurram Sher Zaman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Khair-un-Nisa Mughal of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which said PM Nawaz Sharif had lost the moral ground after the JIT report accused him and his family of misleading the nation about their assets and income.

The resolutions, calling for the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in Maldives on an official visit, were presented before the house by Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, which unanimously passed it while lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) were absent from the house.

Earlier in April this year, a similar resolution had been passed by the Sindh PA, asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to immediately resign from his office when Sindh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Ahmed had presented a resolution in the Provincial Assembly and also asked the apex court and the Election Commission of Pakistan to de-notify him from public office.

Speaking in favour of the resolution on Tuesday, Khurram Sher Zaman of PTI argued that two judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the Panama case had disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while in the JIT report, ample evidence of money laundering, fraud and corruption had been presented before the Supreme Court.

“Following the JIT report and fresh evidences, the PM has lost the moral authority to remain in office and he should immediately step down," he said and bitterly criticised the PML-N leaders for attacking the JIT members.

Claiming that the PM would now be behind the bars instead of going to Jeddah and Dubai, the PTI lawmaker demanded the Sindh government to include a chapter in the educational curricula on the Panama case and corruption of the Sharif family.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Khuhro supported the resolutions by the PTI MPA as well as member of his own party and said the Pakistan People’s Party believes that democracy would remain unharmed if the PM resigns and another elected representative was elected as the new prime minister.

“We believe that assemblies should continue functioning and the government should complete its tenure but the PM should step down as he has lost the moral authority to remain in the office," he said.

Nisar Khuhro also criticised PTI leader Imran Khan for looking towards the ‘Umpire’ during his sit-ins, saying Imran kept waiting for the Umpire for so many days but it didn’t intervene and added that Imran Khan’s attitude had raised many questions in the minds of people.

Khair-un-Nisa Mughal of the PPP said several world leaders who were in the office resigned from their seats after their names appeared in the Panama Papers but deplored that PM Nawaz Sharif remained adamant despite so much humiliation, both locally and internationally. She also praised the JIT members for showing ‘courage’ and said they should be praised for their determination despite so much pressure and intimidation from the government.

PPP MPA Sharmila Farooqui said Nawaz Sharif had fled the country in the past and this time too, he could not satisfy the investigators of the JIT but he was repeatedly asking about the allegations against him, which is ridiculous.

Recently-elected MPA from Karachi Saeed Ghani termed the ongoing humiliation of PM Nawaz Sharif as ‘divine justice’, saying he lodged false cases against PPP leaders and workers, including Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, her husband Asif Zardari and added that Benazir Bhutto used to appear before courts on daily basis.

He claimed that PM Nawaz Sharif was causing irreparable damage to the sanctity of the nation and maintained that he was not eligible to remain the prime minister of Pakistan.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan MPA Faisal Sabzwari said all those whose names had appeared in the Panama Papers should be prosecuted and added that their party too demands PM Nawaz Sharif to step down till investigation against him was pending.

Following the debate, the deputy speaker presented the resolution before the house but as nobody opposed the resolution, it was unanimously adopted by the house after which the deputy speaker adjourned the session till Wednesday morning.  

APP adds: The provincial assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday passed a resolution by majority vote, expressing confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the wake of the recent situation that emerged in the Panama case.

The resolution was presented by Advocate Organzaib and Barkat Jamal, the parliamentary leader of the PML-N in the assembly. The only PTI MPA in the assembly also raised his hand in favour of the resolution, however, PPP and Islamic Tehrik opposed it.

The resolution said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, by presenting himself and family for accountability, has set a new example and his act will be written in history of the country with golden words.

It said that PM Nawaz Sharif respected the judiciary and his action would remove the chances of corruption while putting the country on the path of democracy. The assembly session was chaired by Speaker Muhammad Fida Nashad, while Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeez ur Rehman also attended the session.