'Exclusive relief' given to Nawaz: PPP

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD:

Taking a dig at PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif who was granted protective bail till October 24 by the Islamabad High Court, PPP central leader Aitzaz Ahsan on Thursday claimed that had it been someone else instead of the former premier, they would not have been granted such a relief.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, the PPP stalwart maintained that no court in the world allowed a convict to leave the country.

“But here [in Pakistan] a convict was permitted to leave the country and he will be addressing public gatherings will October 24,” he added.

Aitzaz continued that Nawaz had spent four years abroad during which he kept showing to everyone that he was fine. “You get bail even after remaining a fugitive for four years,” he lamented.

The PPP central leader, who always had a soft corner for PTI Chairman Imran Khan, stressed the importance of giving the deposed premier a similar kind of relief if there had to be a level playing field.

In a statement issued from Islamabad, PPP Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi maintained that 20,000 security personnel would be deployed for Nawaz’s public gathering in Lahore but elections were not won through such state-level receptions.

Read Nawaz set for grand reception

The PPP leader said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should announce the date of the general elections.

“A lot of selection has been done, now there should be an election,” he continued.

The PPP information secretary raised the question as to where was it written in the Constitution that the general polls should be withheld for the “selection” of a specific person.

In a joint statement issued from Lahore, PPP Central Punjab vice presidents reacted to the court granting bail to the PML-N supremo.

Azhar Hussain Dar was of the view that the granting of bail to Nawaz till October 24 was a unique decision in judicial history.

Chaudhry Akhtar believed that favours and concessions were being showered on a certain party.
Arshad Jutt claimed that the caretaker government and some institutions were openly facilitating the PML-N.

Read more Nawaz steers clear of court battle

Mian Ayub said the advertising campaign seen in the provincial capital was showing the future scenario.
Javed Bhatti believed that the selection and recruitment policy for the upcoming elections had been exposed.

Ijaz Suma maintained that the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) “condescending” attitude towards Nawaz revealed a great deal.

Rana Irfan said the playing field had been reserved for the new “favourite”. Khan Asif Khan claimed that some people had sworn not to learn from the past. Khalid Nawaz Bobby said the PPP would expose the “pre-ballot rigging” of the PML-N everywhere.

PTI lawyer Shoaib Shaheen during a news conference in Islamabad claimed that the law in the country had been turned into a joke by granting bail to a convict.

Citing an SC verdict, he said bail could not be granted to an accused until they surrendered themselves to police.

He maintained that even today, the court had told Nawaz that his petition was not maintainable, but NAB came to his rescue and told the court that it had no objection over the granting of bail to the PML-N supremo.