President Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Punjab, Imtiaz Safdar Warraich has demanded Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to withdraw immediately its proposal on the army and judiciary's role to tackle the challenges faced by the country. He was addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club.
Warraich said the PML-N was trying to give impression that the constitutional institutions have failed and there is a need of unconstitutional step in the country. He said the PML-N wants to repeat its history by bringing back Zia and Musharraf regimes with a 'weak parliament and a strong army ruler'. He said the nation has already witnessed results of any such situation, and referred to the emergency imposed by General Pervez Musharraf when superior judges were restricted to their residences and the lawyers were on streets.
According to him, an end to the 10-year ban on Nawaz Sharif is over and intolerance on the part of the PML-N has started emerging. He criticised the leadership for making mockery of peoples' mandate by airing such unconstitutional proposal. He said the PML-N has ousted PPP from Punjab government as a first step, followed by horse trading and now inviting the judiciary and army to cover it up.
PPP Punjab president stressed that the role of army and judiciary is pre-determined in the constitution. He said PPP has already put forward the proposal of an All Parties Conference on issues relating to Pakistan. He further recalled that Nawaz Sharif had been confronting General Kakar, General Asif Nawaz Janjua, General Jehangir Karamat, General Pervez Musharraf, General Ali Quli Khan, former Presidents Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Farooq Leghari. He criticised PMLN for its short temper and said the PMLN cannot work with anybody.
On the imposition of Article 6 against Chief Minister Punjab, he said his statement is negation to the Constitution, as army and Judiciary are not in confrontation with the government.
The Punjab chief minister had told journalists after inaugurating a three-day polio campaign in Lahore on Monday that the deteriorating situation in the country demanded that all stakeholders, including the political leadership, army and the judiciary, sit together and discuss the challenges facing the country. He also said he has already contacted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the advice of Nawaz Sharif to suggest him to sit together with the army and the judiciary and discuss a strategy to steer the country out of the current situation.