Hashmi calls for snap polls ‘before it’s too late’

Former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on Thursday urged Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani not to insist on completing his government’s five-year term and rather hold snap polls taking onboard all stakeholders to seek a new mandate from the people to save the country.
Addressing the National Assembly (NA) prior to resigning from the lower house in wake of his decision to part ways with his party–the PML-N and join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Hashmi spoke his heart out and took an overview of the challenges faced by the political leadership and the widening gulf between people and politicians.
Visibly perturbed over his party leadership’s cold shoulder and continued disregard to his 45-year-old struggle for democratic order in the country, Hashmi and his daughter, Maimoona, tendered their resignations from their respective membership of the lower house. While leaving the house, Hashmi was given a standing ovation by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) members, some of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) ministers and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNAs while PML-N members, except for Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali, the main opponent of Hashmi in the PML-N, and Mehtab Abbasi, all MNAs applauded Hashmi who waved to the house before departing it. Hashmi had won general elections from NA-149 Multan while his daughter had been elected on a reserved seat for women on a PML-N ticket. In his speech, Hashmi gave an overview of his parliamentary struggle for peoples’ rights since 1985 when he had been elected to the NA for the first time. Hashmi said that parliament was fast loosing its objectives and turning out to be meaningless.
He said that this was the right time for the political elites of the country to review their attitudes and autocratic mindsets, otherwise, people were fast loosing confidence in parliament, which was also becoming powerless. “Today, around 47 lawmakers have resigned from assemblies. Would you act when assemblies would become empty? These resignations reflect that the assemblies are failing to come up to the expectations of the people and it is about time to seek ways and means to restore confidence of the people in democratic order,” he said. Rather than saving the system, Hashmi added, it was better for the political leadership to save the country. The former PML-N MNA also criticised the leadership of his previous party–the PML-N–stating that party chief Nawaz Sharif had visited his house and sought his blessings to enter into politics and it was none other than him who had informed Nawaz about his appointment as an adviser in the mid-80s.
Crticising his own former party leadership for accepting former PML-Q leaders, Hashmi came down hard on Nawaz and said that not only he had been ignored by his party leadership despite his sacrifices but also former law minister of PML-Q Zahid Hamid had been given a ticket in 2008 elections despite the fact that Zahid had attacked his daughter in the NA. “Here in this august house, a former PML-Q minister had attacked my daughter while I was imprisoned and Hanif Abbasi had saved my daughter. But I did not raise my voice following the party discipline. I may also have not spoken, as my voice had been suppressed,” Hashmi said in an emotional tone. On this occasion, Hanif Abbasi came to rescue Zahid and stated that he had saved Maimoona who was attacked by PML-Q MNA Tariq Javed and not by Zahid. But Hashmi confronted Abbasi and asked him not to distort facts, as he had photographs of Zahid attacking his daughter.