Opposition will not allow 26th Amendment to pass: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

KARACHI: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Thursday that the opposition will not let the govt’s 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill pave way for open balloting in the Senate and participation of dual nationals in the general election.

Abbasi, who is a leader of the former ruling party of the country the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was speaking to the media after his appearance before an accountability court in Karachi in a case pertaining to alleged illegal appointments at the Pakistan State Oil.

He said that although his party was willing to allow the show of hands in the election in the upper house of parliament, which is scheduled to be held on February 11, yet they will not allow dual nationals to become legislators.

He added that already one-third members of the current federal cabinet were dual nationals – which is an unseen precedent in the world. He said that the opposition was set to fight tooth and nail to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and prevent the country from being ruled by foreigners.

On a question about the Broadsheet scandal which largely implicates the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif among others in corruption, Abbasi said that the only one purpose of the inquiry commission made by the federal government was to cover up the main issue.

He said that Sharif was being chased with malicious allegations by his political rivals for 20 years yet they could not prove any corruption. Abbasi said that inflation was rising day by day while the government was lying to the people that it was decreasing.