News
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Only Raiwind not celebrating 18th Amend: Taseer* Punjab governor says opposition not giving credit to president
* Govt does not feel threatened by judiciaryDaily Times Monitor
LAHORE: The entire country is celebrating the approval of the 18th Amendment Bill in the National Assembly, but those in Raiwind are in a state of mourning, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said on Monday referring to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif.
Talking to Shahzeb Khanzada in his programme ‘News Line Plus’, the governor said Nawaz needed to win the elections before he could become a third time prime minister, “which was very difficult”.
Not giving credit: Taseer said the opposition was not giving credit to President Asif Ali Zardari for the passage of the 18th Amendment Bill. He said that Nawaz had called Zardari an enemy of democracy, but asked if the PML-N chief had said anything about the president after the passage of the amendment.
The governor said that Nawaz did not even attend the joint sitting of parliament. “Two seats had been reserved for Nawaz and Shahbaz, but they said they were not invited to hear the president’s address... how is it possible that nobody invited them?” the governor asked.
To a question about the powers of the president, Taseer said that Zardari had told him before the tabling of the 18th Amendment that his real power was his responsibility as the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party. “He (president) asked me how he could use Article 58-2 (b) against his own government. I have never seen a president more accommodative than Zardari,” he said, adding that the president’s two offices gave political stability to the democratic system.
Biggest victory: He said the PPP and the PML-N had appointed their favourite army chiefs in the past, but it did not make any difference, adding that the biggest victory of the incumbent government would be to hand over the reins of the country to a democratic government in 2013.
Taseer said that ‘some elements’ had tried to create differences between the president and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, adding that the PM was a veteran politician and had never allowed any conspiracy to succeed. He said the president did not interfere in governmental affairs and that he only gave his opinions to the PM.
Not threatened: Taseer said the government did not feel threatened by the judiciary, adding that such speculations were also raised in December when ‘some people’ claimed that the present government would not survive the Supreme Court’s National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict.
He said the attorney general of Geneva had made it clear that the Swiss cases could not be reopened. He said the president’s opponents were helpless themselves, which is why they were pleading with others. “I don’t understand the need to reopen 13-year-old cases… there are several other important cases in Pakistan. Why don’t they open them,” he said.
He said that people talk about the $60 million allegedly with President Zardari – “a claim that cannot be proved” – but asked why no one could see the wealth amassed in Raiwind. Taseer said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had mentioned his three homes in London in his assets details sent to the Election Commission. “Where is the money of the Hudaibiya Paper Mills and why haven’t its cases been opened yet?” the governor asked.
He said that if Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was so fond of taking suo motu notices, why did he not reopen the Sharifs’ cases.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk