Nawaz’s comeback: Opposition calls it ‘mockery of Constitution’

PTI, JI announce challenging amendments in court of law


Riazul Haq October 04, 2017
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah. PHOTO: PID

ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties, on Tuesday, condemned the re-election of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif as PML-N’s president and described it as a ‘mockery of the Constitution’.

Talking to the media in his chamber at the Parliament House, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah said the ruling party has amended the Constitution for the sake of one person and thereby made a mockery of it.

“A sacred institution like parliament should not have been used for personal gains. The legislation which aims to benefit one person has undermined role of parliament,” Shah said.

The opposition leader, who is currently facing a challenge from the PTI and MQM-P, also hit out at the two parties and questioned their role in the Senate, where the government had managed to get the controversial constitutional amendments approved paving the way for Sharif’s comeback at the helm.

Forgone conclusion: Back in the saddle

He said an investigation should be launched into the role of the two parties which, he said, were engaged in ‘cosmetic protest’ now. “They [PTI and MQM-P] protested in the National Assembly to cover the embarrassment they had faced in the Senate, where they abstained from voting [against the bills].”

Addressing a news conference after Sharif’s reelection, PTI’s spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said his party would take the issue to the court to protect Section 203 of the Constitution.

“The Ali Baba [a derogatory allusion to Sharif] who is a tax evader has been reelected by 500 thieves. The PTI will also stage 13 public rallies in different cities of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh to register its protest against the move,” he added.

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq also criticised amendments made in the Election Bill and announced that the party would challenge it in court of law.

“A controversial clause has been added to the bill to save just one person. The PML-N will be responsible if democracy derails in the country due to its confrontational politics,” Haq said while talking to media.

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