LAHORE – The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz announced on Monday that the PPP would expose all the malpractices of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, though it would still continue its policy of reconciliation and not destabilize the provincial government.
Riaz told reporters at Data Darbar that the PPP had documentary evidence against the so-called good governance of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and could produce it at the right time. He said however that the PPP might give its vote of confidence to Shahbaz Sharif. He said he did not any see a difference between former president Pervez Musharraf and Shahbaz Sharif except the absence of a military uniform, since they both had a dictatorial style.
Riaz said Sharif was “being deceptive by talking about revolution while living the life of princes”. He said further that the PPP would urge the provincial government to implement the 19-point agenda and would not hide its own shortcomings. He said PPP ministers were not satisfied in the Punjab government but were bound by party discipline and had therefore not resigned.
He said that regardless of political developments in the province, the PPP wished to continue its reconciliation policy. He accused the PML-N of promoting horse-trading in Punjab, and said the chief minister had established at least three secretariats in which thousands of people were employed, which was a huge burden on the provincial exchequer.
He criticised the PML-N for what he said were “turncoat politics” in the name of the Unification Bloc. He said his party and leadership had tried to run matters smoothly with the PML-N but Nawaz Sharif had parted ways with them in favour of turncoats.
He said all options such as strikes, sit-ins and walkouts from the provincial assembly were open to pressure the Punjab government to implement the PPP’s 19-point reforms agenda.
He said President Asif Ali Zardari would decide who would lead the opposition in the Punjab Assembly once the PPP had been formally removed from the government. Later, Riaz led PPP ministers in prayers at Data Darbar. They also prayed for the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.
