Continued tirade: Armed political wings trained abroad, says Nawaz

Renews his call to ban political parties maintaining such groups.

BENAZIRABAD: Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has dared the government to file a reference in court against political parties implicated in the Supreme Court’s verdict on Karachi violence.

“We will see whether the government files a reference against the vicious crimes committed by certain political parties or continues to work towards perpetuating its power,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president said on Friday.

(Read: SC tars all political parties with the same brush)

On Thursday morning, the Supreme Court announced its judgment on target killings in Karachi and criticised the federal and provincial governments for their failure to curb violence. The court also accused political parties of supporting militant groups involved in various crimes.

The PML-N chief alleged that workers of political parties, whose names have been mentioned in the joint investigation report for seeking extortion, have been training abroad. “Those who kill innocent people and destroy peace in the county cannot serve Pakistan,” he said.

Sharif added that people are well aware about parties maintaining armed wings. “I have reservations with the MQM on various issues,” he added.

Sharif said the nation is on the roads, widely protesting against flawed policies of the government. However, Sharif did not give concrete suggestions on how problems could be tackled.

The PML-N chief claimed that every year Rs400 billion are being embezzled from the national exchequer, while during the last four years more than Rs1 trillion have been wasted on reviving public sector organisations.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2011.