Visited CJP as ‘faryadi’, PM admits

— Abbasi says he hopes CJP ‘understood his words’, denies discussing any personal issues with top judge

— Repeats criticism of Senate chairman, says people who spend money to win seats do not serve the people

SARGODHA: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday said that he had visited Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar as a “faryadi” (pleader) of the country, adding that he hoped that the CJP had “understood my words”.

He was referring to the reported remarks of CJP Nisar during a hearing on Thursday wherein he had said that his job was to listen to the pleas of every “faryadi”.

While addressing the inauguration ceremony of Chaudhry Abdul Hameed Cardiology Centre at District Headquarters Hospital and two high-pressure gas pipelines of 12 and 16-inch diameters in Sargodha, he said that his opponents had a problem with his meeting with the chief justice and had levelled allegations that he visited the CJP as a faryadi.

“They said that I visited the chief justice as a faryadi, so yes, I did go to him as a faryadi but as a faryadi of this country,” he said.

“My witness is the chief justice,” he said, “I do not want to discuss the meeting but I can tell you that we did not discuss any personal issues.”

The prime minister asked that why the opposition was perturbed over the interaction.

“I am the prime minister of this nation. Chief justice heads an institution and if I find any difficulty, I am bound to meet him for resolving it,” he said, adding that the country belonged equally to all, including himself, Imran Khan and even the chief justice.

“How will the country run if we confine ourselves to our offices and not talk to each other,” he said, recalling his statement at the parliament that the government was facing some issues in running its affairs.

He said that there was no harm in interaction when the common objective was the development of the country. The meeting continued for two hours, he added.

“I hope he understood my words. I also listened to him. Countries are run this way only and this is nothing new,” he said.

HORSE-TRADING:

Repeating his criticism of the newly-elected Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, the prime minister said that those who had been elected as senators using their money must be sent home as they could not represent Pakistan.

He also said that politics of horse-trading needed to be buried forever, adding that the sanctity of the vote would be undermined if such politics continued.

“Our opponents are disturbed these days over my remarks about the Senate chairman. I repeat that the people of Pakistan do not accept the seats obtained using money. Those who became senators using money cannot represent Pakistan. These people need to be sent home,” the prime minister said.

He said that Imran had voted in the favour of Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) candidate in the Senate election despite having accused Asif Ali Zardari of buying Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) 14 senators.

He said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was proud of not using even a single penny in the Senate election and challenged Imran, Zardari and the Senate chairman to prove their innocence.

Regarding the court cases against Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister said they did not expect any justice from the accountability court.   He said that there were no strong evidence nor any corruption allegations against the former prime minister, who had left the office within no time of his disqualification by the Supreme Court (SC) just on the basis of holding an iqama.

The prime minister expressed hope that the incumbent government would complete its tenure and would claim even more seats in the upcoming general elections.

He was accompanied by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State Mohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Mussadiq Malik besides MNA Dr Zulfiqar Bhatri and MPA Abdur Razzaq.

‘RECORD DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS COMPLETED IN PML-N’S TENURE’:

The prime minister, who earlier unveiled plaques to launch three mega development projects, said that the government had completed record development projects and had achieved the economic growth rate of 5.7 despite huge challenges.

He said that when the incumbent government assumed power, the country used to import a million ton of fertiliser and also inherited gas and power crises, closed power plants and industries but today the government was executing gas projects worth Rs 11 billion only in Sargodha, which would increase the supply threefold and end load shedding.

He said that the throughout the country, one could see the development projects executed only by the PML-N government, unlike the previous governments which had only worked in their self-interests.

He said that development projects completed by PML-N government would have far-reaching impacts on the country’s progress. He also said that 10,400 megawatts of electricity had been added to the national grid for overcoming load shedding in the country.

The prime minister also announced the establishment of a women’s university besides hospitals in Sargodha.