Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has geared up efforts to unite the opposition parties to pressurize Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down after Joint Investigation Team (JIT) submitted its report to Supreme Court on the Panama papers case. A senior PTI leader who wished not to be named told Business Recorder that in the first stage, the PTI would talk to all opposition parties to unite against the Prime Minister and force him to step down.
"We will use the forum of parliament to force the PM to step down and for this purpose, Shah Mehmood, the deputy parliamentary leader of PTI in National Assembly, held a meeting with Opposition leader in NA Khursheed Shah," he added. He said the party was also in touch with other opposition parties, and added "we want the government to accept the demands of the opposition - resignation of the Prime Minister - or else we will be forced to take to the streets".
"After the JIT report, the PM has no moral right to stay in office," he said adding the PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also demanded the PM's resignation and if the PPP did not change its stance the government would be left with no option but to bring in a new prime minister.
He further contended that a good number of PML-N leaders wanted the PM to quit, but people like Khwaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Asif haD advised him to stay on and linger as much as he could. "This strategy is not going to benefit them [PML-N] in any way, as a good number of PML-N leaders wants to join the PTI, and the moment it becomes clear to them that PML-N has lost the battle, they will leave the party, pushing the government against the wall," he claimed.
When contacted, a senior PML-N leader said "if PTI thinks that the PM will step down, it is their wishful thinking," adding the PTI had been moving from pillar to post for the last four years to come to power through backdoor channels, but it never succeeded. He said the party had already decided to challenge the JIT report in Supreme Court as "we have serious reservation over the 'controversial report'. We'll fight the case as it is our constitutional right and we are optimistic that the apex court will address our concerns," he maintained.
He also said it was out of the question that the PM would dissolve the assemblies and called fresh elections. According to him, the Senate elections are going to be held next year in March, and the sole objective of the opposition's hue and cry is to deprive the PML-N from emerging as the majority party in the Upper House of Parliament.
"We will ensure our majority in Senate next year. We will complete our five-year term as people have given us the mandate, and Imran Khan is nobody to snatch people's mandate from a democratically elected government. We'll see them [PTI] in 2018 elections when the peoples will give their verdict," he added.
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