Someone is interfering with democratic order

By Our correspondent

SUKKUR: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, has said he is frightened by the prevalent politics of destabilisation and confrontation, adding that every leader is bent upon fighting each other and the institutions are also pitted against one another. Addressing a public gathering in Kandhra, Khursheed said we have a Parliament, elected by 200 million people, and all of us must respect and recognise its supremacy and appreciate its power which strengthens the institutions.

He said today we are confronting a situation where people are uncertain about holding of elections, but i am convinced that they will be held. He said Nawaz Sharif made the critical mistake by not attending the Parliament sessions and by undermining it. He said it was the same Parliament that had saved the Nawaz government when it was surrounded by containers. He said those standing on the containers were predicting the imminent fall of the government, but it was the Parliament, and not individual parties or leaders, that rescued the Nawaz government and foiled the conspiracies. "I have always advised Nawaz that it is the parliament which provided him with the premiership; if he keeps criticizing this institution then he will suffer, and that is what has happened."

Taking a jibe at the politicians, he said their desire is to become prime minister, but Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto never said she wanted to become the prime minister. If that was so, Benazir would have never returned to Pakistan, she would have easily won the election from Dubai as she was told by the dictator. But she returned to the homeland to give confidence to the people and remain on their side.

Khursheed said the PPP founders proved that their life and death was with the people of the country, adding unfortunately, today’s politicians are suffering from disconnect with the people. They are of the type who would not even come down from the podium to protect their workers from being beaten up. He said when Begum Nusrat Bhutto went to the Qaddafi Stadium,Lahore, the PPP workers were baton-charged by the Police, but Begum Nusrat Bhutto came to their rescue and even she was not spared and thrashed. Earlier, the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, on Saturday criticized the"interference of judiciary" in matters which he categorized as "civil administrative issues". When told that the chief justice is taking action only after the institutions repeatedly failed, Shah said: "How was Pakistan functioning before this? It has been running better than this." "Look at the situation in Sindh: There are two chief ministers, Amir Hani Muslim and Murad Ali Shah."

When asked to comment on the suo motu notices taken by the chief justice, Shah asked the judiciary to keep taking such notices."They can always summon the prime minister or the chief minister if an issue is not resolved," he added."But, it does not look good that the chief justice himself is surveying the roads and heaps of garbage,"he said, adding he should appoint a team to carry out such surveys.

Khursheed Shah said "it was previously rare to see any judge appearing before the media, but now we frequently see them in the news, just like any politician. They hold media talks and the media is allowed to question them,"he maintained. He warned that whenever there is an attempt to force a government within a government, the whole system gets disturbed.

Shah said no one is willing to admit that lack of civic planning is the actual cause of Karachi's problems. "A city which has the capacity to house only 8-9 million people only, has become home to more than 20 million people. Of course, this will result in civic problems."The opposition leader went on to say that "trash is not only what you see lying on the roads. What about the heaps of files of pending cases lying in the cupboards of courts?""I am the leader of the opposition. If I don't say these things then who will? It is our job to highlight these issues," he said.

The leader of opposition also leveled the blame of country's dismal condition on the ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He expressed the confidence that Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in London, will return to Pakistan. When asked if he agrees with Nawaz's view that democratic forces are being targeted by non-democratic forces and his apprehensions of chaos in the coming days, Shah said: "Non-democratic forces only get active when we leave room for them to act. I always talk of the parliament's supremacy. Regarding his views on the impartiality of institutions, Shah said: "An atmosphere has been created which gives an impression that something is going on behind the scenes. I advise everyone that the institutions should operate within their domain."

Regarding suspension of Geo News, he regretted the cable operators blocked the transmission of Geo News and other channels of Geo, for many weeks in major parts of the country for unknown reasons. “We believe it is a direct attack on the press freedom,” he said and demanded the government to ensure protection of people’s right to gathering, unionization, delivery of speech, acting on religious beliefs and basic human rights. He said restrictions are in still place on the right to assembly and freedom of speech at the educational institutions. He said Pakistan has a long history of fight for the freedom of expression and speech. Once again, the mass media is facing various restrictions, he said.