Political impasse: ‘Imran Khan wants a wicket on a no-ball’

Shahbaz says government will continue to act with restraint and caution.

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Friday that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan wanted to score a wicket on a no-ball.

He was speaking to a delegation of lawmakers. Sharif said Khan was flouting the Constitution on the Constitution Avenue.  Sharif said it was unfortunate that Khan had been unable to show sportsman spirit. He said some myopic elements had been conspiring against Pakistan to further their political ends. Sharif said the public would foil every attempt to create instability in the country. He said long march calls had lacked popular support. Sharif said the forces behind calls for these marches and protest demonstrations were not interested in resolving the problems of citizens. He said the public had rallied behind Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was a democratically elected prime minister of the country. Sharif said Pakistan had become a nuclear power under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and those targeting him with baseless allegations should apologise to the nation.

He said those who had been threatening to dissolve the parliament had no right to comment on democracy and the Constitution. He said the unanimous passage of a resolution in the parliament regarding the supremacy of the Constitution was representative of the wishes of the public. Sharif said a few thousand people would not be allowed to hold the nation hostage. He said the government wanted to resolve all outstanding issues through negotiations as it believed in defusing crises and not creating them. Sharif said the public had given a mandate to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and those staging protest demonstrations and sit-ins should respect it.

Separately, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said those who truly believed in their demands did not resort to unparliamentary language. He said it was unfortunate that Khan had used derogatory language during the Azadi March in the presence of the media. Sharif said use of strong language was routine in politics but Imran Khan had stooped to a new level in the country’s history. He said Khan’s remarks against parliamentarians could not be repeated in public. Sharif said he had never used such language in his personal or political life. He said there was a marked difference between using strong language and making profane remarks. Sharif said that Khan had promoted himself as a youth icon but now he was setting a bad example for the youth through his conduct. He urged Khan to retract his comments.

Sharif said the government was leaving no stone unturned to defuse the situation but constructive dialogue was needed to resolve all outstanding issues. He said the government would continue to act with restraint and caution.

Sharif said the public knew who had been trying to stall the negotiations. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2014.