Shahbaz Sharif himself withdrew his bail plea: minister

LAHORE:Provincial Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat has criticised the PML-N in the Punjab Assembly session on Friday, saying that not only this House but the entire government is witness that when the Panama case came up, it was Nawaz Sharif's government.

"Your government was in power when decisions were made against you and you were disqualified. If you have been abused, you are to blame yourself,” said the law minister while speaking on the floor of Punjab Assembly. He said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi continued to enjoy the post of prime minister for a year; why he could not bring justice to his leader?

He challenged the opposition to disprove the allegations made by a TV anchor in his programme a day ago. Raja Basharat on the occasion also said that Shahbaz Sharif himself withdrew his pre-arrest bail application, surrendered before the court and was then arrested by the NAB. “Does it involve the government,” asked the law minister from Opposition.

He called on the opposition to come up with a unanimous resolution in which the armed forces would be paid tribute for their sacrifices and remarkable services. He made it clear that the judiciary and the armed forces of Pakistan had nothing to do with politics. “What our leader Imran Khan has repeatedly called you a thief has also proved that you are a thief," Raja Basharat said.

“It is also our duty to find out the reasons when we talk about inflation. Isn't a fact that Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi left the province with a surplus of Rs 100 billion while our government inherited a bounce check of Rs 50 billion. We also repaid your debts and pulled the economy out of the ICU. Let's respect institutions, whether it is the army or the judiciary which are the honour of us and the country,” he said.