ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday strongly criticised President Asif Ali Zardari for giving statements while trying to cover up forgery of the MPs by referring to Quaid-i-Azam.
While addressing a press conference here at the Parliament House, he maintained that the failure of the government should not be taken as failure of the democratic system. “The democratic system should move forward through democratic means, not through an undemocratic way,” he said.
He said the PML-N would not demand mid-term elections for the time being but would play a more effective, vocal and a pro-active role to check incompetency and wrongdoings of the government inside and outside parliament.
“The mid-term elections are part of the democratic system and we understand these elections are needed when the rulers and government do not perform well to come up to expectations of the masses,” Nisar said.
Chaudhry Nisar said the PML-N would demand mid-term elections in categorical words whenever it took a decision in this connection. “It is not proper for President Zardari to say that the opposition wants mid-term elections under the cover of fake degrees issue,” he pointed out.
Nisar said the PML-N had been playing its proactive role as the opposition but now it would play a more effective part inside and outside parliament and would also go for public mobilisation if so required.
Once again negating the impression of friendly opposition, Chaudhry Nisar recalled that the PML-N had been proactive during the budget debate, cut motions and passage of the Finance Bill.
He regretted that President Zardari, while trying to clarify the position of fake degree holders, used the name of Quaid-i-Azam. “Zardari should remember that it is not an issue of the condition of graduation in court rather it is a matter of fraud and forgery,” he said.
The leader of the opposition stressed that the life of Quaid-i-Azam was based on principles, truth and justice. He said the rulers and the president and his government had not remembered the Quaid-i-Azam for the last two-and-a-half years when photos of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had been put in place of founder of the nation. “By witnessing so, it seems that Pakistan was founded by these PPP leaders and not by Quaid-i-Azam,” Nisar regretted.
Referring to the recent statement of President Asif Zardari, he said it never suited a personality like the president of the country to make the opposition a target of his unnecessary criticism, saying that everyday Zardari came up with a new story. “Instead of wasting his own and time of the nation, President Zardari should take the people into confidence and tell them as to what is the basis of his stories,” he said.
Nisar said sometimes President Zardari talked about political actors and the opposition and sometimes he referred to the third force. He said President Zardari, while speaking against the opposition parties, never uttered a single word on issues of price hike, loadshedding, increase in electricity tariff and other problems being faced by the common man.
He warned the president to act according to dignity and status of the office, saying if he (president) would give political statements, he would receive a tit-for-tat response from the other side.
Nisar observed that instead of issuing statements, the rulers should focus on improving performance of the government and implementation on decisions of the judiciary to defuse a situation of anarchy in the country.
To a question, Nisar said as per financial discipline, the allocations were closed by May 15 whereas the law minister abruptly started distribution of money to lawyers’ community. Responding to another query about a statement of Dr Babar Awan, he said if Shahbaz Sharif became the chief minister because of his political status, the PML-N would have no objection if the brother of the law minister was competent enough to be appointed as the federal law secretary.
Source (The news)