Shahbaz attacks Zardari for ‘lying to US’

LONDON: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif derided President Asif Ali Zardari for “misleading and lying” to the United States that the Punjab CM alerted militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to empty their bank accounts in view of the impending ban on international pressure following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Wikileaks diplomatic cables recently revealed that President Zardari had confided in the US Ambassador that it was Shahbaz Sharif, who informed the now-banned LeT leaders to empty their bank accounts, suggesting that the Punjab CM was a sympathiser to the militant causes.
Shahbaz Sharif was addressing a press conference, arranged by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz UK chapter leader Zubair Gull at a hotel in central London on Thursday night. Answering a question by The News, Shahbaz said the information passed by President Zardari was completely baseless, cooked up, and it was shocking that the president of Pakistan was spying on a Pakistani provincial chief minister to the foreigners. He went on further and said that this allegation, coming from President Zardari, was a licence of innocence for him as nobody would believe a word of President Zardari.
Sharif condemned the federal government for seeing the phenomenal rise of corruption in every department but sitting idly, letting it rule Pakistan and doing nothing about it. He, particularly, mentioned the Haj scandal and said that the level of corruption can be measured from the fact that the hujjaj going for worship were even not spared and demanded an exemplary punishment for those who had fleeced the hujjaj.
Striking a conciliatory tone, Shahbaz said that he and his party believed in the national reconciliation and politics of tolerance and accommodation and thought it was important for all political players to respect each other.
He was asked by The News what could happen to the national politics if personal attacks and diatribes continued between his party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which earlier caused farcical storm on both sides after PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif attacked the MQM.
Shahbaz Sharif has often been criticised for being soft on al-Qaeda linked militant and sectarian groups, operating from Punjab, but he said that the fight against militancy was the fight for Pakistan’s survival and there should be no doubt about that.
He said this war must be won because in the current internal war against terrorism, Pakistanis had sacrificed more lives than the all the previous wars nation fought against external enemies. Shahbaz ruled out achievement of swift economic, educational, industrial and cultural development without winning the war on terrorism. Shahbaz was hopeful that the country would eventually win the war and mentioned the achievements made by Pakistani forces in Swat and other areas.
He said that Pakistan cannot face any kind of unconstitutional change at this juncture, but he said any in-House change was the right of the democratically elected Parliament. Shahbaz spoke about the uplift of education sector in Punjab and upheld the establishment of “Daanish schools” as a showcase of modern education system which was reserved for over three million children only from poor backgrounds. He said he had launched a drive against illiteracy and was determined to ensure first class education for Pakistani youth.
Shahbaz said Pakistan faced multiple problems, but he was confident that the human resource of talented youth and skills of Pakistanis will help the country recover from the turmoil and place itself on the road to progress.
Shahbaz Sharif is arrived in London for a medical check-up after flying in from his official visit to Turkey where he, besides discussing with Turkish officials the ways to improve education quality in Punjab, also thanked the Turkish nation for raising $200 million for flood victims in Pakistan and mentioned that the whole Turkish nation felt the pain of Pakistanis and set up relief camps all over the country.