— Senator Pervaiz says ‘someone’ helped ex-military ruler to travel abroad
— PML-N’s senior leader says he resigned as minister to save democracy
ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister for information and broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rasheed, months after losing his ministry over ‘news leaks’ saga, has said that he resigned during that controversy in order to save democracy.
Speaking to a private TV channel, he said that former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf was not sent abroad by the government of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). However, he admitted that the government could not stop him from doing so.
“Other institutions did not cooperate with us in stopping Musharraf from leaving the country. He (Musharraf) himself said that someone helped him to travel abroad,” he said. “Won’t take the name of the institution but certain individuals were involved in conspiring against us,” he said.
He said that Musharraf’s legacy conspired against Nawaz Sharif-led government. However, he (Nawaz) chose a measured restraint, he said. “There is a ghost, which I call the ghost of Musharraf’s legacy, it is present in political parties, political minds and the institutions,” he said.
“We have to change this thinking, we have to challenge it and fight against it,” he said. “Decisions were taken against us despite the presence of the Interior Ministry,” he said, adding that a lot of things happened despite the existence of their government.
Senator Pervaiz termed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ‘a pawn’ in Nawaz’s ouster. He said that the people would forget names of the prime ministers within a couple of months once they were ousted from the office.
“Previously, when a prime minister were ousted, they would go home silently, but this is not the case now,” he said. “People responded strongly when the prime minister was ousted this time,” he pointed out.
Despite having the Interior Ministry, a Joint Investigation Team was formed and the WhatsApp messages were sent, he said. When asked to comment on the fact that he was sacked by Nawaz Sharif, he said that he would speak on the issue on another day.
“We can talk about this another day. This is not a big issue,” he said. “I am a political worker and have played that role in the past as well. Lots of truth come out into the open with the passage of time,” he said. This is the first time that Pervaiz Rashid has shed light on the ‘news leaks’ saga after he was sacked.
NISAR REACTS: In an apparent reaction to statements made by Pervaiz Rasheed, senior PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that some people have put the entire blame for their mistakes on the interior ministry and the establishment.
“People should tell what help they expected from the interior ministry and should have the moral courage to explain the conspiracies staged against them,” Nisar’s spokesman said in a statement.
“They should also have the moral courage to not confuse the nation,” he said. In a reference to the ‘news leaks’ commission, the former minister said that a five-member committee comprising of members from federal and provincial institutions gave a decision against them.
This man is lying openly and shameless, an experienced lier, that is how you become information minister. The supreme court asked the Prosecutor General if they have any objection to removing Musharraf’s name from ECL, the Prosecutor replied, “we leave the matter to the supreme court”. In response, the judge replied, “you don’t pass the buck to us, you must tell us whether you are objecting or not”. The prosecutor repeated the same as before. That is the truth, available to all from the transcript of the supreme court case. Since there was no objection from the prosecution’s side, it was normal and proper for the Supreme court to remove Musharraf’s name from the ECL list.
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