Workers’ convention: ‘No one will be allowed to endanger national integrity’

Calls for formation of ‘an effective independent commission’.


Express May 21, 2011

GUJRAT:


Pakistanis will not beg for alms and charity or endanger national integrity, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif was reported as saying on Friday.


He was addressing a workers’ convention in Gujrat.

He called for the formation of an independent commission on the May 2 incident, saying that truth should be made public “so that such incidents do not recur again”.

Nawaz Sharif said that the PML-N would talk with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on the terms and conditions of independent commission after his return from China, and if the federal government showed any reluctance on implementing or constituting “an ineffective independent commission”, he would launch a massive movement against the government. He sought massive public support in this regard.

Sharif also indirectly criticised on the manner in which the top leadership of the PML-Q were conducting politics. He said that politics should be based upon principles not on personal interests. He said that if such a rule was to be adopted in politics, no one would “dare violate our sovereignty”. He said that time has to come to force the government to wake up.

He said that without principles, politicians could not serve the nation or engage with the world as leaders of a sovereign nation. He also stressed the need for ending massive power cuts, eliminating poverty, changing the national mindset in the shortest possible time and said that he need public support to make this possible.

Criticising the government on its mishandling of the US operation to kill Osama bin Laden on May 2, he said that elements responsible for the Abbottabad incident should be held accountable, adding that this incident could not be forgotten.

Stressing the need for upholding the country’s sovreignity and respect, Nawaz Sharif said that “no one will be allowed to disgrace the honour of the Pakistani nation”.

He said that only investigation conducted by an independent commission would let the world know that “this is a sovereign nation and its sovereignty cannot be challenged”.

He said that his party would overcome any hurdle created by the government. He also talked about the power outages, saying that it was shameful that the matter was still outstanding despite so many years.

Indirectly criticising President Asif Ali Zardari, he said that if politicians say that agreements were “not Quran and Hadith”, how could they justify their standing as national leaders. He said that if he had public support, he would eradicate “such dirty thoughts from politics” and would set his morality based on democratic principles.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2011.

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