Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday came hard on ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), saying that President Zardari was holding party leadership 'unconstitutionally' and 'unlawfully'. "PPP co-chairman (Zardari) is unlawfully and unconstitutionally holding the party leadership," said Ahsan Iqbal, PML-N deputy secretary-general while addressing a news conference.
He argued that PPP was not registered with Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) so far and the ruling party's name was Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP). He questioned why the PPP leadership is hesitant to get its party registered with the ECP. He accused PPP of violating Political Parties Act by not getting itself registered with ECP.
Ahsan harshly criticised the government and its policies, saying that the performance of the incumbent government remained 'zero' in the last three and half years. "This government did not show any kind of seriousness in resolving masses' problems. They (rulers) are not ready to listen to resolutions of the parliament and we are left with no option but to go to public," he said when asked whether PML-N was planning to tender resignations from assemblies as part of their anti-government campaign.
He said that after October 28 rally in Lahore, the anti-government drive would be extended to other provinces including Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. "The time has come that masses should come out with a demand for fresh elections," Ahsan said, adding that this was not a parliamentary tradition that an 'incapable' government must complete its five-year tenure at any cost.
Describing the government economic policies a serious threat to country's security, he said that the PML-N would not let Pakistan's economy to further deteriorate and the corruption to flourish any more. He said that his party had launched the movement to get rid of the 'corrupt' rulers. He accused the government of deliberately destroying the national corporations like PIA, PEPCO and Pakistan Railways so that these could be sold out to cronies. On the other hand 'dacoits' were being freed one after another as per the 'deal' between PML-Q and PPP, he claimed.
Ahsan lamented that the accountability bill proposed by the PML-N was still pending with National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Justice despite the passage of three and half years while National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have been made ineffective by appointing their favourites as heads of such important institutions. He asked PPP to defend the cases of its co-chairman and President Ali Zardari in courts if they believed that these (cases) were made on political grounds. Referring to the protesting Railways pensioners, Ahsan urged the government to immediately resolve the issue by devising a way out so that they could not face problems in future.