ISLAMABAD
It is wrong to assume that various factions of the Pakistan Muslim League are seeking an alliance to come to power, rather the move should be seen in a broader perspective, PML-Q likeminded President Salim Saifullah Khan said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference, Khan said the first meeting of the All Pakistan Muttahida Muslim League would be held in Lahore very soon. “I called on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif almost two years ago for the same purpose and the issue of the PML’s alliance should be seen in the broader perspective,” he said.
The likeminded chief said all PML groups were coming together at a single platform and “I am happy that the PML-Q is part of the alliance”. He said PML-F chief Pir Pagara would come to Lahore soon to attend a meeting, which would further formalise the alliance. “If all factions of the PML form an alliance, I will go and invite Nawaz Sharif myself,” he added.
“The people have been accusing the PML-Q likeminded group of obeying (former president Pervez ) Musharraf’s orders, but the critics saw Musharraf announcing his own party on October 1, and no one from my party joined him in London,” Khan said. “On the other hand, some friends of Chaudhry Shujat Hussain were sitting with the former president,” Salim Saifullah added.
Commenting on the law and order situation in the country, he said hundreds of poor people had been killed in Karachi and the government had failed to control target killing in the country’s financial hub. “If the government cannot handle the situation, it should resign and let others handle it,” he said.
“Pakistan needs a new Charter of Democracy (CoD) as the number of political parties in the country has increased,” he said. Khan announced to bring forward a roadmap for Pakistan to resolve the current crises. “It will be a document for the solution of the problems being faced by the country, which will be presented in the coming week,” he added.
He welcomed the Supreme Courts’ verdict on the 18th Amendment cases and urged the government to act upon the other verdicts of the judiciary as well. He said his party was in favour of the Kalabagh Dam, however the decision should be made after a consensus.
Former foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri welcomed the prime minister statement on drone attacks, saying the remarks had negated the charges against the PML-Q of allowing the US to carry out drone attacks inside Pakistani territory.
