Buzdar sees further split in opposition

Govt leaders rule out compromise on accountability

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has predicted that the already divided opposition parties will split further after their conference held on Sunday.

“They are deceiving themselves. Such APCs cannot win public confidence,” he said while commenting on the opposition’s all parties conference (APC). He said ‘unemployed’ politicians should keep in mind that APCs cannot draw public acceptability but serving the people is the real politics, which is the hallmark of the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

He said the people of the country have complete confidence in the bold and honest leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. “The rejected elements had done nothing before and would not get anything done in future as well. The APC of opposition parties will end in a fiasco.” The chief minister claimed that the opposition had once again proved that they only gathered for protecting their personal interests. He alleged that the opposition parties had ignored the national interest. He said those who had looted the national exchequer could not hoodwink the people and the people recognised their corrupt faces.

Chief Minister Buzdar accused the opposition parties of trying to create hurdles in the progress and prosperity of the country. “Pakistan cannot afford any more chaos,” he added. Meanwhile, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar said during a meeting with Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, who called on him, that the government will complete its term regardless of whatever the opposition does. “We have never compromised on accountability and we will never do so in the future as well.”

He said the opposition should play its democratic role inside parliament instead of protesting on the roads.

Commenting on the opposition parties’ meeting, Punjab Minister for Information Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said Prime Minister Imran Khan had exposed their internal differences by allowing the telecast of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s speech from London. He said Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif’s speech in the APC was an attempt to extinguish the fire lit by his elder brother. He alleged that Sehbaz Sharif’s only objective was to get rid of the case against himself and his son.

He underlined that the opposition’s demand to stop accountability through the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was akin to seeking an ‘NRO’.

The minister said the result of a no confidence motion against the government would not be different from the earlier attempts of removing the Senate chairman and creating obstacles in legislation related to the Financial Action Task Force.

Published in The Express Tribune, Septe0mber 21^st, 2020.