- Deposed PM says democracy, press being ‘strangled by invisible forces’
- Says he will soon reveal ‘hidden secrets’ relating to PTI and PAT’s protest sit-in in 2014
ISLAMABAD: Continuing his tirade against ‘those’ who have removed him from power, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday alleged that democracy and the press in the country is being “strangled by invisible forces”.
Addressing the media outside the accountability court conducting corruption proceedings against the Sharif family, the former PM said that a state stands on three pillars, however, a single pillar has taken control of the entire state. He added that the PML-N is not competing with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the upcoming general elections, but with other ‘forces’.
He went on to claim that “invisible forces” are busy working on installing a parliament of their choice. “The present times are not an era of the Mughal kingdom, when all power wrested in one hand,” he asserted, while questioning where the writ of the parliament and government has gone.
“Aliens are no more as effective [as they used to be],” he said, adding that he had the support of the people.
“Despite everything, my party passed the law in the parliament to get me elected as its president but the law was struck down to remove me,” Nawaz said. “Was it legal to remove me from party presidency?” he asked.
In his message for World Press Freedom Day, Nawaz said attempts to curb freedom of press are being made. “We have always raised voice for freedom of speech and will continue to do so.”
Referring to PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s backtracking from his reported statement against Nawaz wherein he had reportedly said that the deposed prime minister had “duped” him into making scathing remarks against the military establishment, the PML-N supremo wondered on whose orders news channels aired the ‘breaking’ news if Zardari had not made those remarks.
Referring to the first sit-in by PTI and PAT after the 2013 general elections, the deposed prime minister said that he knows hidden secrets which have never seen the light of day. “There are lots of hidden facts pertaining to the protest sit-in, they will soon be revealed before the public,” said the ousted premier.
Speaking about the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief’s recent statement that the bureau’s sun is shining on the entire country in response to Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s criticism that the anti-corruption watchdog’s sun is only shinning in Punjab, Nawaz maintained that the authority is giving exemptions to people in Sindh.
On May 2, Chairman NAB Justice (r) Javed Iqbal reacted strongly on to remarks made against the national corruption watchdog by Shehbaz Sharif, who had alleged it of having double standard.
Shehbaz, while addressing a ceremony in Lahore had criticised the accountability body for focusing their ‘eagle eyes’ on Punjab only and warned that the NAB’s double standards were unacceptable.
“The sun of National Accountability Bureau is shining over Punjab,” he was quoted as saying and challenged his opponents to prove even an iota of corruption against him.
Reacting to the statement, the NAB chief, chairing the executive board meeting of the bureau in Islamabad, said, “There is no doubt that the NAB’s sun is not just shining over Punjab but across Pakistan.”
On the other hand, Maryam Nawaz on Thursday said that they will defeat invisible forces forever in the upcoming general elections 2018.
“Reality cannot be denied by closing eyes like pigeons,” she said while talking to media outside Accountability Court.
