Statements of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif are giving the impression that his strings are in the hands of Indian intelligence agency RAW and in his speeches, Nawaz is “grinding the Indian axe” at cost of national interests of Pakistan, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab Parliamentary leader Zulfiqar Gondal said on Friday.
Holding a press conference at the Lahore Press Club along with other PPP parliamentarians, Gondal said that there was contradiction in the PML-N’s claims and actions while Nawaz was uttering statements like a RAW agent who cares least that his acts and words could incur an irreparable loss to the solidarity of Pakistan. He said that “head of the Nalaiq League” was working for pleasing his American masters. The PPP leader asked PML-N leaders to get jobs in any local intelligence agency instead of following CIA directions.
Gondal said that Nawaz was running down all national security institutions, including the ISI. On Nawaz’s stance about the defence budget, he questioned that why did he forget to reduce the defence budget during his tenure. Gondal claimed that the PML-N would not discuss the defence budget in the assembly if it comes into power. The PPP leader said that double standards of the PML-N could be seen from fresh Wikileaks disclosures, as former US Lahore Consulate principal officer Bryan Hunt, in a secret American diplomatic cable describing his meeting with the Punjab CM, said that Shahbaz Sharif had agreed that after restoration of CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry, he could be removed once and for all to end the issue.
Gondal claimed that Shahbaz thought that the CJP was a problematic jurist, whose powers needed to be carefully curtailed. He said that the PPP, contrary to the PML-N, played a basic role in the judicial movement and even sacrificed its workers. Replying to a question about drone attacks and the role of political parties, Gondal said that politicians were resisting drone attacks in the public, while in close door meetings, they favoured the attacks for the war against terror.
The PPP leader said that on one hand, the PML-N rejects foreign loans while on the other, it has struck a $1 billion loan deal with China. To another question, Gondal said that the PPP wanted the Lahore High Court (LHC) to clearly define the political activities in which President Asif Ali Zardari was involved and from which activities he should restrict himself. He said that the president was supposed to administer oath to ministers and call on foreign diplomats.
