Probe memo scandal in 10 days, Nawaz tells govt

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Saturday demanded the government form an inquiry commission to probe into the Washington memo scandal and the inquiry should be completed in 10 days.
“An inquiry commission should be established with the consent of the opposition so that the issue can reach a logical end. Retired judges like Fakharuddin G Ebrahim can be made members of the commission which should complete the probe within 10 days,” Nawaz said while talking to reporters.
Floating another proposal for conducting an inquiry into the memo scam, Nawaz said the entire National Assembly could conduct the inquiry, which should be completed within 10 days. Nawaz said the issue should not go unnoticed by the government. “The issue of the memo cannot be ignored,” he added. Demanding Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani stop agencies from indulging into the country’s political affairs, the PML-N president said the party would approach the Supreme Court if a transparent probe was not carried out by the government in the memo scandal.
To a question on Senate election, Nawaz said he was not afraid of the election and they should be held on time. Sharif said it was not given necessary that the PPP government would win the polls, as all members in both the provincial and national assemblies were not from the PPP. Without naming Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, Nawaz said there was a need to curb the role of intelligence agencies in politics.
He alleged that the PML-N had proof of agencies’ support to a political party. “General Ashfaq Kayani should stop agencies from indulging into political affairs . Our army should avoid accusations of indulgence into politics,” he said. Nawaz said if anyone wanted to enter the political arena, he must do it on his own power, not with the support of the agencies. The PML-N leader expressed concern over the progress on the Abbottabad commission, saying the inquiry appeared to be heading nowhere. “The PML-N spoke on issues like the Abbotabbad Commission and killing of journalists. Many politicians come to the forefront and play a blame game, but never speak about any of these issues,” he said.
Nawaz said that the PML-N always stood by its principles and the government should be answerable for its role in the incident. “Had President Asif Ali Zardari acted upon the Charter of Democracy, he would have saved the PPP-led government from the disgrace it is facing now,” Nawaz said. He said former president Pervez Musharraf should be tried in the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case. “If a person like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto can be hanged, Musharraf should not be spared on the basis of his previous post in the Pakistan Army,” he added. Nawaz said his party had raised voice over Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. “It saddens me how the media has forgotten about the killing of journalists Saleem Shehzad and Wali Khan Babar,” he said, adding that an inquiry should be done until the culprits were brought to justice.