PML-N will resist ‘selective accountability’, says Shehbaz

–NA Opp leader says his party has not approached PPP for ‘help’, says Opp united on national issues

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that his party will support accountability if it is carried out after due process but will resist “selective accountability”.

Speaking to the media, Shehbaz said that despite initial differences, the opposition is united on national issues, adding that difference of opinion is the beauty of democracy. “There were some divisions on the elections of the premier and president, but the opposition is united now,” he said.

Shehbaz said that the opposition wants to maintain a consensus on issues pertaining to foreign, interior and national security.

“I myself will head the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The norms and customs should prevail,” he said.

The PML-N president said that although he had been in touch with opposition parties, his party had not approached Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari for help. “I am not aware of any contact with PPP to seek help,” he added.

Shehbaz also talked about the presidential poll and said that his party does not believe in buying and selling lawmakers. “Everyone knows how Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) purchased aircraft packed with lawmakers,” he said.

He said that talks about rolling back the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan are premature.

He also lashed out at the government for the hike in prices of various commodities and “dropping an inflation bomb” on citizens.

“Parliament can make or break anyone. The opposition has the right to initiate a motion of no-confidence against the incumbent government,” he said, adding that such talk was premature at this point and the opposition would work for the nation’s stability.

Warning the government against the dangers of tampering with the bureaucracy, he said that if the government was subjected to the whims of those in power, it would suffer badly.