- Minister says PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif will himself lead campaign for next general elections
- Asks Tahirul Qadri to stop politicising Model Town incident and have faith in courts instead
LAHORE: Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Sunday that political battles should be fought in the political fields instead of courts.
Addressing a seminar titled “Challenges to constitution and democracy and their solutions” on the 45th death anniversary of his father and veteran Muslim League leader Khawaja Rafique Shaheed at Alhamra Hall, the minister made it clear that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would himself lead the election campaign of his party during the 2018 general elections.
Saad Rafique, who remained with party chief Nawaz Sharif throughout his four-day long march following his ouster from the office of prime minister, said that they were not launching any movement against the judiciary, but added that it was their democratic right to comment on any decision handed down by the Supreme Court.
“We (PML-N) respect the courts and honest judges but, if some controversial decision comes out, then the same cannot be appreciated,” he added.
Admitting the fact that democracy was not strong in the country, Saad Rafique said that the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif had further weakened democracy in Pakistan.
“The political contest must be fought only in the political arena and everyone should avoid taking political matters to the courts,” he said, adding that both the decisions of the Supreme Court – the one against former prime minister from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Yousaf Raza Gilani and the other against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) General Secretary Jahangir Tareen – were not healthy signs for democracy in Pakistan.
He also recalled that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had unequivocally backed the democratic system. “The challenges that our country faces are so great that no government, party or institution can tackle them on their own,” Rafique said.
He said that the narrative of the COAS was the same as the narrative of the PML-N and he supported the democracy. He also said that Pakistan’s enemy could get the benefit of the confrontation among the state institutions.
During the seminar when PML-N workers started chanting slogans against Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri, Rafique stopped them, saying that he had a close association with him once and had also requested him to drop the idea of launching another long march against the democratic government.
He further said that what had happened in Model Town was not right but he suggested the PAT chief to go to courts for justice in the Model Town case instead of politicising it on roads by staging sit-ins and protests.
“He should have trust in courts and avoid attempts to derail democracy in the country,” he added.
Saad Rafique said the PPP and PTI should not instigate Qadri as it would damage the democratic process and elections could be delayed.
The minister also appealed to religious sections not to divide the nation by politicising the Khatam-e-Nabbuwat issue, saying that the belief on Khatam-e-Nabbuwat was base of faith of every Muslim. “We can sacrifice our lives in the feet of Hazrat Muhammad (SAWW) so please do not politicise it,” he added.
Rafique made it clear that elections would be held at the scheduled time and the PML-N really wanted to transfer the power to the next parliament that would only be elected by the people’s votes.
“The postponement of elections would equally be detrimental to Imran Khan as the holding of elections is imperative for every political party to flourish,” he affirmed.
In his address, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said it was really unfortunate that not even a single prime minister of the country was allowed to complete the five-year tenure during the last 70 years.
Lauding the services of the PML-N government, Ahsan Iqbal said that the foreign media was reporting that Pakistan had slipped back into the Stone Age before Nawaz Sharif took the reins and then the world witnessed Pakistan progressing rapidly under his leadership when the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project was launched.
About security situation in Balochistan, the interior minister said, “It had become a crime to hoist the flag of Pakistan in Balochistan, but it was our government that brought the restive province back in the mainstream.”
Speaking at the event, former president of the PML-N and veteran politician Makhdoom Javed Hashmi made a request to the judiciary that judges should not indulge themselves in politics.
“Is there any prime minister in Pakistan who was ousted thrice from his office and is appearing before the accountability courts along with his daughter,” Hashmi questioned.
A resolution was passed on the occasion in which it was made clear that elections would be held on time while the usage of foul language by politicians against each other was also condemned.
Provincial Ministers Zaeem Qadri, Khawaja Imran Nazir, Khawaja Salman Rafique, MNA from MQM-P Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Mayor Lahore Colone retd Mubashar, Advisor to CM Punjab Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami and a large number of parliamentarians were also present on the occasion.
