'Minus Niazi' formula on the cards: Hamza

Ruling out the possibility of any "minus four formula" revealed by the PTI ministers for his party earlier this week, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz on Friday said it was in fact 'minus Niazi' formula that was in the works.

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmad had said that all the four Sharifs – Nawaz, Shehbaz, Maryam and Hamza – were now ‘minus’ and had no further role in the country’s politics.

Talking to the media last Friday, Rashid said that no drastic change was happening in the country’s politics without former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been living in London since 2019, adding that the “hand on Prime Minister Imran Khan's head would not be placed on Sharifs’ head, rather it could be their throat”.

Read more: Rashid says Sharifs are out of country’s politics

Hitting back at the government, Hamza, while speaking to the media outside the Punjab Assembly in Lahore, said, "I'm tired of listening about minus four [formula], [on the contrary] minus Niazi is going to happen... people could only live in peace if this happens... after minus Niazi, we will make this country Quaid-e-Azam's prosperous Pakistan again".

Lashing out at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf over its ‘inability’ to handle multiple issues the country faced during the past few years, the Punjab opposition leader hinted at an “in-house change” in the National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature.

"Whether it is National Assembly or Punjab Assembly, we will take all legal and constitutional steps against the government... you (the government) will be held accountable for your actions and people will be liberated from them soon," he added.

Hamza said that the opposition will talk to different political forces before taking any step against the government. "We will talk to all political parties, even the government allies and we will invite them to address the hardships the people of the country are facing due to policies of this government," he said.

To a question about bringing the presidential form of government in the country, he said that whenever the government is asked about its performance, they start churning out things that have no value.

Also read: Shehbaz, Fazl discuss no-trust move against PM

Talking about the report of the scrutiny committee formed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on foreign funding case, the opposition leader said that Prime Minister Imran had failed to give an explanation about his Canada and New Zealand accounts.

"When Nawaz Sharif was named in Panama Papers, Imran Khan had asked him to resign. Now scrutiny committee has named you... and you should resign and give an explanation about the questions being asked regarding your foreign accounts."

Criticising the government over its alleged negligence during the Murree tragedy, he termed the report of the five-member committee a "joke".

"PML-N will not relax until the real culprits of the tragedy are not taken to task... the people are freezing to death but the administration kept sleeping... We will not let the Buzdar administration get off so easily," he further said.

Opposition dissatisfied over govt response on Murree tragedy

Meanwhile, the opposition members expressed dissatisfaction over officials’ suspension on Murree tragedy during the Punjab Assembly session earlier in the day, claiming the victim’s families will never forgive the government whose incompetence caused deaths of their beloved ones.

Hamza also demanded a parliamentary committee to minutely probe the gory incident.

“Hamza Shehbaz will not sit till all responsible of the Murree incident are brought to book”, he vowed. Suspending some people will not heal the wounds of victim’s families, he made clear.

During his speech on “General discussion on Murree incident”, Hamza Shehbaz asked the assembly members “where were the helicopters of Prime Minister Imran and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar when innocent children were dying in Murree”.

PML-N spent billions on machinery to deal with heavy snowfall but that machinery was not used properly, nothing was done to protect the families trapped in Murree, he claimed.

There was a shortage of wheat, sugar, fertilizer and other routine items but the Prime Minister Imran Khan just seems updating the nation that “mafia is working” but does not seem to making any concrete effort to eliminate or even to bring them to book.

The PML-N lawmakers left the assembly chambers as Hamza’s speech ended up.

Responding to Hamza’s speech, provincial law minister Raja Basharat said the opposition leader was so sorrowful on Murree incident but where he was when people were being gunned down at Model Town. “They are the killers of those who lost their lives in Model Town incident,” the law minister said.

During his response, the law minister also revealed that two accused of the Anarkali blast had been arrested, adding that investigation was being carried out from all aspects and soon people will be made aware about it.

He also condemned the opposition’s conduct of leaving the assembly chambers after delivering speeches.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi also seconded the law minister, adding, “It is true and regrettable that opposition leaves the assembly chambers after conveying its voice, they should keep patience to listen to treasury benches too with same desire they required delivering their speeches”.

After agenda items finished, Elahi prorogued the session for indefinite period.

(With input from Rana Yasif from Lahore)