Politicking: PM has lost the right to rule, says Shujaat

PML-Q president says Nawaz should step down on moral grounds.

LAHORE: Nawaz Sharif has lost the right to premiership after the top court’s verdict, as he has not been given a clean chit, said Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Thursday.

None of the five judges on the Supreme Court bench that heard the Panamagate case declared him as Sadiq or Ameen and he should better quit the prime minister office, he said while talking to media along with Senator Kamil Ali Agha, MNA Tariq Bashir Cheema, Basharat Raja, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Syed Dilawar Abbas and Ajmal Khan Wazir in Lahore.

Shujaat believed two judges had disqualified the prime minister on not being truthful while the three others did not disagree with their stance. “Silence is half endorsement,” he said, adding in the light of the verdict, the prime minister has no justification to remain in office.

The PML-Q leader said justice could still not be expected from the Joint Investigation Team, which would comprise officers of institutions already questioned by the Supreme Court during trial.

He added the prime minister should have already resigned on moral grounds when the proceedings began.

He also appreciated the efforts of PTI chief Imran Khan, saying his continued efforts and struggle kept the Panamagate case alive. “The credit [for the verdict] goes to him [Imran],” he said, adding that meetings with Imran will continue to take place.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2017.