Why did Imran find fault with ex-CJ after nine months, asks Khursheed
ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah Monday said PTI chief Imran Khan was once a favorite of Geo and former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry but he was talking against them these days.
“If Imran thinks the former chief justice was involved in rigging then why he did not raise its voice nine months ago,” Khursheed asked while talking to media persons at Parliament House after the conclusion of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting.
Khursheed advised Imran Khan to use the forum of parliament rather than adopting politics of agitation and becoming part of street rallies. He said rallies were being staged both for and against Geo and this must stop.
“Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri are bringing out rallies after these rallies, which raises questions. Why Imran Khan remained silent for nine months if he thinks ex-chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was involved in rigging?”
He said Imran Khan used to claim that he will bring a change with new names and allow only clean politicians to join his party but now 70 percent of politicians in his party were same who were part of other parties in the past.
To a question, he said the PPP was not participating in these rallies with a view to strengthening the democratic system and not in support of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.“The PPP does not want to derail the democratic system,” he said, adding, “Democratic system should not fall prey to personal egos; if the system derailed then people will lose confidence in the democratic system.”
To another question about the statements of State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali, Khursheed said the minister was just making statements about the recovery of dues to divert the attention of people from the 12-16 hours load shedding countrywide.
“The 12-hour load shedding has made people’s life miserable,” he added.He asked as to why the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had not protested against the ongoing loadshedding which he used to do in the past.
“The Punjab chief minister had said he would change his name if load shedding was not finished in six months but we’re not asking him to change his name,” Khursheed added.Meantime, Khursheed Shah had a very interactive session with the new Young Parliamentary Associates in the National Assembly, accompanied by former member Ms Yasmeen Rahman and IP3 team leader Ms. Niamh O’ Connor.
Speaking on the occasion, he said politicians should not become pawns of undemocratic forces like in the past. He said the nation had witnessed a successful transition of democracy for the first time in the country’s history and things were different now than they used to be.
He welcomed the team and reposed his confidence in them as the future of Pakistan. The YPAs asked a number of questions which Khursheed answered.To a question, he termed student unions the nurseries of politicians which open doorways for the talented youth from apolitical backgrounds to join the future leadership of tomorrow.
“The role of opposition is very important in the oversight function and so of the committees,” he added. He clarified that “friendly opposition” did not mean compromise, as opposition used to be very hostile to the government in the past which ended up in the disruption of democratic process.
“Today, the opposition focuses more on issues than point scoring; hence terming it ‘friendly’ in comparison with precedents is not right,” he said.Asked what made a politician successful, the opposition leader said: “He whose heart is among the people, and keeps in touch with his people even after elections.” The 35 youngsters had a lunch with the opposition leader and interacted with him on different issues.
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