‘Told Nawaz not to pick fights with army, judiciary’

RAWALPINDI: Former interior minister and senior PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan once again advising his party leadership not to confront with state institutions like Army and judiciary, said that focus should be on the tackling political opposition.

“It is my opinion but not my narrative that the party should stop fighting Army and judiciary,” Chaudhry Nisar said this while addressing a press conference.

He said he had confined himself to his constituency adding the time had come to talk about some important party matters.

He said during the Central Executive Committee, he asked the party leadership to make clear narrative of the party. “I am not going to receive any medal from the Army but it is in interest of the PML-N and the nation not to fight Army and judiciary,” he said adding rather he advised that focus should be on tackling the political opposition.

Nisar told newsmen that he had already suggested Nawaz Sharif in person that it was not in party’s interests to adopt policy of confrontation with Army and judiciary. “It is judiciary which after all will give relief to you,” he said.

Nisar observed that the politics was not a boxing match rather the politicians should find a better way out without compromising on principles.

He said the shoe-throwing on politicians was a condemnable act and it was meant to create political anarchy in the country.

Responding to a question about disagreement with his leadership on different issues, he said it was his belief that party issues should be discussed within the party saying that no forward block was coming up in the PML-N. He said he silently handled many issue due to ongoing issue within party. “What could be more silence than the fact that he apologised to attend cabinet meetings and confined himself to the constituency,” he said.

Talking about issue of placing names of Sharif family on ECL as raised by the PPP member Naveed Qamar during the National Assembly proceedings on Thursday, Nisar said that some sections of press wrongly reported his response saying he did not take name of Nawaz Sharif.

He said that in 2013, the process of placing names on ECL was changed and committee of the Interior Ministry was assigned the task. “Neither the prime minister nor the interior minister can order to put any name on the ECL,” he said.

He recalled that the committee was directed if anybody’s name is forwarded to it by NAB, FIA, intelligence agencies, General Headquarters or banking courts, same should be implemented. The committee was also directed if it did reach a consensus on placing any name on the ECL, institution which sends recommendation should be apprised of the decision.

He said that prior to 2013, there was no policy putting names on the ECL and people were used to be placed on the list even on domestic issues like dispute between husband and wife on directions of the minister or federal secretary. “We gave it shape of a policy in 2013,” he said.

He pointed out that the name of Pervez Musharraf was removed from the ECL on the directives of the trial court saying the decision later was maintained by the high court and the Supreme Court. “It was not the interior ministry but the court which guaranteed that Musharraf would return to the country,” he said.

Nisar recalled when the PML-N government took over in 2013, the country was facing problems with regard to issuance of visas. “But we also adopted tit-for-tat policy in this regard,” he said adding such people used to come visit on visas which were threats to the country.