ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and opposition leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, Saturday warned Prime Minister Imran Khan of the “consequences” of what he called the “path of confrontation with the Constitution chosen by him” for creating hurdles in the voting process on the no-confidence motion today (Sunday).
Speaking at a news conference, Shehbaz alleged that Prime Minister Khan has resorted to hatching a “conspiracy” to divide the nation instead of accepting his “defeat” in the wake of the no-confidence motion by refusing to follow the path of the Constitution and the law.
“He [Imran Khan] has resorted to a straight and clear confrontation with the Constitution. I once again ask him that for the path, he has chosen other than the law, through creating chaos by calling agitation, he will be made answerable after the no-confidence motion succeeds,” he maintained.
He asked the relevant civilian institutions, including the Islamabad District Administration, to make all arrangements, so that the members reach the parliament peacefully as per the decision of the Supreme Court for casting their vote.
Shehbaz terms PM’s speech ‘admission of defeat’
The PML-N president also asked his party workers to remain peaceful. He added if Imran Khan tried to create any confrontational situation in violation of the Constitution then the law will take its own course.
Shehbaz also explained his recent statement that “beggars cannot be choosers”, which was criticised by many, saying that some people have “twisted” his statement.
He further explained that it was not the first time he has stated this, adding that he is stating this for decades “which has neither any relevance with the West nor with East”. He added that his statement was neither in the context of China nor in the context of the West. “It has always been my conviction that true independence comes from self-reliance. The concept of sovereignty is incomplete without economic sovereignty, which cannot be achieved without blood, sweat, and tears,” Sharif had stated in a tweet earlier in the day.
In the presser, he further explained that any nation’s political dependence is irrelevant when it is not economically independent. “If we want our sovereignty and defence, then it needs self-reliance. If we want to be independent, then we have to break the begging bowl which, I know, is not an easy task,” he stated, adding that self-reliance is only possible when we come out of the snare of foreign loans.
In 2011, he added, as a result of the drone attacks it was the PML-N’s Punjab government that refused to take the US aid, but not the PTI’s KP government.
He recalled that Imran Khan had promised that he would not approach the IMF and rather he would commit suicide. “You [PM] should have committed suicide when you approached the IMF,” he said.
Talking about the prime minister’s commitments to eradicate corruption, he asked what happened to the reports of the commissions formed to investigate major scams.
Referring to the reports that the government may frame cases against the opposition leaders under the treason clause – Article 6, he said that if any treason case has to be made then it should be against Prime Minister Khan allegedly for becoming the sole reason behind the cancellation of the Chinese president’s visit to Pakistan during his 2014 sit-in.
“I approached the then Army Chief General Raheel Sharif after getting approval from (then PM) Nawaz Sharif and told him that I have received a final warning that if they [(the PTI protesters) did not clear the Constitution Avenue, the Chinese president would cancel his visit. They (the military leadership) stated that they would do something, but nothing happened,” he maintained, adding it resulted in a delay of CPEC for seven months.
He also asked the prime minister to tell the nation on whose direction he had given a 126-day sit-in in Islamabad. He alleged that Imran Khan deteriorated Pakistan’s relations with China, adding that the work on CPEC has almost come to an end because of the “baseless allegations” he (Imran Khan) had been leveling against the CPEC projects. “This nation does not need such “fraudsters” anymore, but a sincere leadership,” he maintained.
Asked whether he would also take action against the “selectors” after becoming the prime minister after the success of the no-confidence move, he declined to comment, saying, he would not be trapped through such questions. “Instead, you need to ask me what would be the path to development,” he added.
To another question about a reported “message” through the Establishment to end the political standoff, he stated that the opposition has not given any message to Prime Minister Khan through the Establishment.
Shehbaz also recalled the visit of former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Pakistan, in which according to him, the former Indian premier visited Minar-e-Pakistan and stated that “they now accept Pakistan’s creation, wholeheartedly.”
“This is called prestige when Nawaz Sharif compelled Vajpayee to admit it…what did you say about Modi that he would resolve the Kashmir issue when he comes into power,” he maintained.
He further recalled that when India conducted nuclear tests, Nawaz Sharif got five telephone calls, but he refused to betray the Pakistani people and he rejected the offer of $5 billion and went for conducting the nuclear tests in response to India.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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