Won’t let you rule if we’re pulled down: Saad

LAHORE/JHANG: PML-N senior leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Saturday warned the rivals that if they succeeded in their plan to remove the government, his party too won't let them complete the tenure in future.

“It is possible that the opponents could come into government after toppling ours but they should keep in mind we too aren’t so good that we will allow them to rule the country,” Saad remarked.

The federal minister said it did not matter how massive an alliance the opponents form against them, as the PML-N would not back down from pursuing the ideology of civilian supremacy in a democracy.

“Everybody has the right to be part of any coalition/alliance and it is not an objectionable practice. However, it is objectionable when lies are propagated, when religion, sectarianism and the finality of the prophethood are politicised, and used as tool to spread hatred and confusion among people” he stressed, while addressing an APC at the Lahore High Court Bar.

Talking about the current challenges faced by the political landscape of Pakistan, he said all parties had the right to oppose and criticise each other and the government, but they should not let any of their actions result in discontinuation of democratic process. “You can accuse a politician of being a liar, corrupt, a blasphemer or an apostate but you can never kill and bury him and his political narrative,” he stressed.

“This recent trend of inciting religious sentiment for political gains is very dangerous. Pakistan should be saved from Talibanisation as it is in nobody’s interest. The country is already fighting hard to recover from the first wave Talibanisation that brought so much loss to the country. The laws regarding finality of prophethood are intact and stronger than ever. Both the Houses the Parliament, including all political parties, have approved it and yet the propaganda on television and in rallies continues,”Saad said. “We should be very careful that we should not cross any redlines in our aggressive pursuance of political targets that would empower another wave of religious extremist behaviour like that of the Taliban”, said the railways minister.

Saad said instigating hate speech that led to attacks on the homes of politicians was an act that could lead to a civil war, as no politician lacked support of his followers

"Why the elected prime ministers are ousted in the country," he questioned, and said it had been made a joke on mainstream and social media whereas it was the most serious question faced by the polity of Pakistan.

Saad said he did agree with the politics of Pakistan Sarzameen Party leader Mustafa Kamal, but it was true that the local governments were not empowered by any province. “We should work more to ensure devolution in its true spirit,” he added.

Separately, Saad, talking to media, criticised the opposition alliance demanding resignations from the ruling party and said no party could bring down the PML-N.

The PML-N leader said everyone had the right to express their stance, but one should refrain from derogatory and insulting comments even for one’s worst political rivals. “We are all humans and no human is exempt from mistakes, however, there are certain basic principles on which none of us should ever make compromise.”

Saad criticised Musharraf for stating that a country’s democracy and Constitution could be compromised for its security and said security, democracy and Constitution were all tied together.

“Political rivalries and differences do not overshadow personal relations and mutual respect among politicians and all parties should be together at least on one point agenda of timely elections and continuation of democratic process, lest we all regret our actions later,” he warned.

On the other hand while addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of a RLNG-fired power plant in Jhang, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the political alliances against the PML-N government were nothing but zero plus zero is equal to zero. “If you add zero to zero then you still get zero,” he remarked.

Abbasi remarked that what he could do when the politicians were trying to ambush democracy. He was referring to the calls for early elections and the attempts to form anti-government alliance by the opposition parties amid the meetings of different party leaders with Dr Tahirul Qadri.

Abbasi again rejected the call for early elections and said the next polls would be held on time in Aughust 2018 according on the wishes of the people, with the results reflecting their decision, adding that the government would complete the five-year tenure successfully.

The PML-N will contest the coming elections on the basis of development-oriented performance, said the prime minister.

Abbasi said power plants had been completed with the extraordinary efforts of the Punjab government but electricity would be provided to whole the country. He hailed the role of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who, he added, had played an integral role in materialising of the development projects. He said due to the failed rental power plants of the previous PPP’s government, the country was facing billions of rupees of debt.

Abbasi said CPEC could have been initiated during the PPP’s tenure but was materialise only by the PML-N because of the trust reposed by the people. On September 29, an agreement was signed by the Punjab government with a Chinese company to set up the 1,263-MW RLNG-fuelled power plant, after the PML-N government completed three major power generation projects in a record 20 months by saving billions of rupees, the prime minister added. Minister for Water and Power Sardar Awais Leghari was also present on the occasion.