Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Tuesday said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should take it upon himself to announce early polls to save the nascent democratic system.
However, the veteran Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader said the system would be disrupted if mid-term polls are held forcibly. “PPP will not accept mid-term polls if the premier is forced into announcing them,” he added.
The PPP stalwart has been criticised of late for being soft on the PML-N government — a change in the party’s stance points towards a strategic shift after being crushed in last year’s general elections by the PML-N.
In the statement, Shah went on to clarify that his party supports democracy and wants to strengthen Parliament. Further, he claimed that PPP’s public meeting in Karachi on October 18 is aimed at strengthening democracy. “It has nothing to do with lending any support to Imran Khan or Dr Tahirul Qadri. Our rally will be for strengthening the system,” he added.
The PPP leader slammed PTI chief Imran Khan – who has levelled corruption allegations against Shah in recent times – saying he lives in a fool’s paradise. “Imran’s dream of rooting out PPP from Sindh will never come true,” he added.
Shah also demanded a Supreme Court-led probe into rigging allegations.
Referring to the sit-ins in Islamabad, Shah said, “The government is facing the current crisis as a result of their own mistakes.” He went on to add that negotiations are the only solution to resolve the current political stalemate, while warning of a ‘third force’ which is waiting to take advantage of the impasse.
The PPP leader also admitted that the PML-N came into power because of mistakes by the PPP government.
SENDS DEFAMATION NOTICE TO KHAN:
Shah also sent a defamation notice to Imran Khan for “hurling unsubstantiated allegations of corruption” against him.
The PPP leader said he would withdraw his claim if the PTI chief tendered an unconditional apology or agreed to pay Rs 100 million within a period of 14 days.
A letter in this regard has been written by Senator Raza Rabbani, the PPP’s additional secretary general.
Over the past weeks, Imran has accused Shah of involvement in financial improprieties, claiming that graft inquiries against him were underway.
He also accused Shah of showing undue favour to the PML-N government in exchange for personal gains.
On September 26, the PPP stalwart said that he pays Rs 2.5 million in taxes every year and was never implicated in any corruption case.
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