Those demanding resignations now submitting their own

Ag Agencies

LAHORE: The PML-N leadership termed the joint opposition’s show in Lahore a total failure and the tens of thousands of empty chairs as a rejection of anti-democratic opportunists and their politics of exploitation.

The time for demanding resignations was over, as they had started tendering their own, the party leaders said, adding that given the humiliation faced at the hands of the people of Lahore, it was better for the opposition leaders to shun politics.

PML-N central leader Maryam Nawaz, in a series of tweets, said thousands of the empty chairs were an endorsement of Nawaz Sharif’s stance representing the people of Pakistan and a rejection of the pawns gathered at the Faisal Chowk that could best be described ‘political scrap’.

She said these pawns would need to wait till the 2018 elections and even beyond that after the people rejected them in the next polls too. Commenting on the resignation by Sheikh Rashid, Maryam said those demanding resignations from the PML-N leadership had been forced to resign themselves after the people rejected their ‘obstructionist politics’.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told a private TV channel that the PTI-PPP collusion was just to gain power, adding that it was a flop show.

He said PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari could not apprehend the culprits of Benazir Bhutto while running the government, but was currently talking about the Model Town martyrs.

The PPP should account for the martyrs of Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi, he said, adding that the PPP had squandered 15 million dollars of the nation for establishing a committee at the UN for investigating the matter.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid said, “They were taught in arithmetic that no matter how many zeros are added together the final result is zero and that is what was witnessed at this joint opposition of zeros.”

He said people had registered an overwhelming rejection of the opportunistic politics and politicians through the flopped show. Those sitting on the stage should look at the empty chairs and read the message sent to them by their support base in particular and the people of Pakistan in general, he added.

Minister for Commerce and Textile Pervaiz Malik said the ‘alliance of the politically aware people of Pakistan’ had rejected and exposed the so-called ‘grand alliance of the joint opposition’ on the Mall Road.

He said people were not naïve and they understood that Tahirul Qadri on one hand was pursuing the case in the courts with full intent, but at the same time was creating a false impression that justice was being denied to him.

Minister for Privatisation Daniyal Aziz said the people talking about sit-in had a problem with the transition of one democratic government to another, adding that both PPP and PTI were supporting the PAT protest to destabilise the PML-N government.

Daniyal said Qadri in the past had used derogatory language against Zardari and Imran Khan but they were united against the current government.

Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb said PML-N councillor could gather more people than those attending the PAT rally.

She said container was passionately prepared after every two years, adding that those politicising the Model Town incident had received a reply (from the nation).

Talal Chaudhry said the power show of the top opposition leaders was as powerless as it could be and that should be enough for them to stop causing nuisance to the people and economic growth of the country.

He said the political parties gathering on the stage knew that they could not win against the PML-N in the general election and thus were desperately trying everything they could to create chaos in the country.

Khawaja Ahmed Hassan – Adviser to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif – said the premise of the entire activity was flawed as the case was already sub judice.

He said all these leaders claimed to be the defenders of judiciary and its neutrality, but were in essence protesting against the judiciary through such protests.

Hanif Abbasi said the opposition parties were baffled and out of options, which led them to desperate actions. He said Sheikh Rashid and Imran Khan might be unaware of the fact that the time for resignations from the National Assembly was over as no by-elections would be held now even if they resigned. He also condemned the foul language used by the duo for the Parliament.