News
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Nawaz plays down PPP, PML-Q contacts
* PML-N chief advises government to reform itself before people take to streets
* Says it is his desire that prime minister should make independent decisions
* Holds Musharraf responsible for problems facing country
By Zakir Hassnain
PESHAWAR: Meetings between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Babar Awan and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will not have any impact on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said
on Wednesday.
“It would not affect our (PML-N’s) health,” he said.
If the government does not change its attitude or reforms, the current situation would further worsen and change will become inevitable, Nawaz said.
He said his party held the Supreme Court (SC) in high esteem and the government should also honour the verdicts of the apex court instead of clashing with it and trampling its decisions.
Talking to the media at the residence of PML-N General Secretary Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Nawaz said the government should respect democracy, the public mandate and correct itself. He said his party did not want a clash among the institutions. Some elements inside the government wanted a clash between the SC and the parliament, and were using all sorts of tactics to achieve their objectives, Nawaz added.
Nawaz said the wrong policies made and followed in former president General Pervez (r) Musharraf’s dictatorial regime had led the country to the brink of disaster. He said Musharraf had bartered away the sovereignty and the integrity of the country, sowing the seeds of terrorism.
Nawaz said the dictator had also gifted drone attacks, load shedding, the Balochistan imbroglio and an economic downfall to the nation.
He said the Muslim League had always struggled for democracy and promoted parliamentary politics. Nawaz added that the 18th Amendment had entrusted the prime minister with more powers, and it was his desire that the PM made independent decisions.
He said ethics came before politics, thus we should all promote ethics.
Nawaz deplored the rising corruption in the country and a report on corruption by the Transparency International. He said the price hike could go down if there was a check on corruption in important institutions.
Nawaz said foreign donors had been reluctant and hesitant to provide aid to Pakistan in view of the irregularities in aid distribution among the victims in the October 2005 earthquake. “Who is going to trust us if foreign aid is embezzled and misused,” he said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk