Nawaz not doing service to Pakistan, democracy by creating chaos, controversy: Shibli

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Monday said Nawaz Sharif was not doing a service to democracy and Pakistan by trying to create chaos and controversy to discredit the present political set-up which he claimed to own.

He was addressing a press conference here along with Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, and Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain.

Shibli Faraz said Nawaz Sharif should not make the elections and democracy controversial as the country had done many favours to him.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan decided that the speeches of all the opposition leaders at the all parties conference (APC) should be allowed to be aired.

The speeches of Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto, he said, were not stopped from being telecast.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman protested to the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leadership that his speech was not allowed by them to be aired.

The minister said Nawaz Sharif in his speech tried to create doubts about the 2018, general election and prove that the same were rigged but the facts and figures negated his claim.

Nawaz Sharif, he said, remained prime minister thrice and considered only those elections fair in which he emerged victorious. In fact, he was not used to free and fair elections.

He was angry because he could not get the required number of seats in the 2018, election to form a government, Shibli Faraz added.

The minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had demanded rechecking in four constituencies.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan expressed his willingness to cooperate and work with the then government of Pakistan Muslim League(N) if nothing wrong was found in those constituencies.

Then a high court formed a commission in 2017 and elections in those constituencies were investigated and verified, he recalled.

Shibli Faraz said after the 2013 general election, 413 petitions were filed before the Election Commission.

After the 2018 election, 299 petitions were filed in the Election Commission and 90 of them were related to the National Assembly constituencies.

A large number of petitions were filed by the PTI candidates, because 6 of its candidates had lost the election by margin of a few hundred or a few thousand votes, he explained.

The minister said according to Nawaz Sharif, if a court would decide in his favour then it would be fine, and if otherwise, he considered it wrong.

Likewise, if an election went in his favour, it was alright and otherwise it was not fair, he added.

Shibli Faraz said if the opposition had objection over elections then it should have asked for electoral reforms as they had members in the Parliament and provincial assemblies.

Last election reforms were done in the government of Nawaz Sharif, he added.

The minister viewed that Nawaz Sharif did not want free and fair elections but those of his choice.

He said Nawaz Sharif was enjoying good health in London as everybody saw him looking fresh, strong and healthy while addressing the APC.

The question was whether he wanted to come back to Pakistan or he was still sick, and he would have to respond to that, Shibli Faraz concluded.