Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday lashed out against rivals for accusing it of forging a nexus with banned outfits, claiming that the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its allies also had connections with proscribed organisations "for political gains".
PML-N's deputy secretary-general Ahsan Iqbal, while speaking at a news conference, alleged the PPP for allying itself with the banned Sipah-e-Sihaba Pakistan (SSP) in 1996 in Punjab. He said that when the PML-N government launched an effective operation against the organisation, its chief Nawaz Sharif was attacked.
He pointed out that Azam Tariq of the banned SSP was released from the jail in 2002 to vote for Pakistan Muslim League-Q's (PML-Q) Prime Minister candidate Mir Zafarullah Jamali. He said that Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad of the MQM held separate meetings with chief of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamat (ASWJ) Mohammad Ahmed Ludhiwanvi in 2010.
Referring to issuance of armed licenses, Ahsan said that it was the governments of Sindh and Balochistan, which had issued arms licenses to Malik Ishaq, the chief of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, adding that blaming Punjab government for forming a nexus with any banned organisation was beyond comprehension. He also asked rivals to know their facts before levelling accusations against PML-N.
Referring to the countrywide blackout, the PML-N leader lashed out at the rulers and said that if such an event had occurred elsewhere in the world, its prime minister and the minister concerned would have resigned and accepted responsibility for their failures.
He also criticised the government for the verdict given by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the favour of India on the construction of Kishanganga Dam. He alleged that bad governance and corruption had brought state-owned enterprises on the brink of collapse.
To a question about rumours regarding postponement of elections, Ahsan was optimistic that all conspiracies to delay the polls would die down in the wake of the military's public statement for supporting the elections. He also condemned the rulers and the coalition partners, saying the country's economy was in shambles due to the incompetence of the incumbent rulers, which would be the biggest challenge for the next government. He claimed that parties like PPP, MQM and PTI have joined hands in order to damage the vote bank of the PML-N.
Referring to the debate on creation of new provinces in Punjab, he said that instead of addressing issues of Sareiki region, the PPP had been exploiting the people to save its politics and to secure its votes. To a question, he said that PML-N supported overseas Pakistanis' right to vote, but the government had not taken any action during the past five-year to ensure their participation in the election process. About the PML-N-JUI-F seat adjustment pact, he said that JUI-F had spent the past two years in the opposition and his party had decided to strike a deal. He, however, said that PML-N will not enter into any such agreement with MQM.
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