Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on Saturday said departure of nine Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) legislators to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was a mere “drama”.
In a statement issued from Lahore, the minister said the move was a clear violation of the Charter of Democracy (CoD).
Kaira stated that those who had jumped ship to PML-N were the very culprits, who a year-and-a-half ago, had attempted to manipulate Senate elections. He added that the major opposition party was not pleased with President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Lahore, which is why “this drama” came to the forefront.
The information minister said the PPP would respond to this undemocratic step in a democratic manner.
Nine PPP MPAs announced on Friday that they were joining the PML-N after a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Four of them are from southern Punjab. They include Nishat Ahmed Daha, Syed Jamil Shah, Rana Babar Hussain and Abbas Zafar Hiraj from Khanewal district, Rana Munawwar Hussain and Sardar Kamil Gujjar from Sargodha, Javed Alauddin from Okara, Qaiser Sindhu from Gujranwala and Uzma Zahid Bukhari-an MPA elected on a seat reserved for women. Her husband Samiullah Khan, a former PPP MPA from Lahore, is also among those who joined the PML-N.