Nawaz tempers support for new provinces with attacks on foes

PML-N chief goes on the offensive as Sindh trip ends.


Express October 20, 2011

DERA GHAZI KHAN:



Opposition leader and head of  his own faction Nawaz Sharif was in a combative mood on Wednesday, launching a scathing attack on the government, hurling rancorous accusations at the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and lending controversial support for the creation of new provinces.


Addressing a public gathering in Dera Ghazi Khan, Nawaz said he was “completely in favour” of new provinces – based on administrative grounds – in Bahawalpur, southern Punjab and other areas if appropriate.

Sharif also lashed out at the incumbents for failing to address the core issues affecting ordinary Pakistanis, before asking the public to help him rebuild “a new Pakistan”.

Sharif continues war of words

“The foundation of terrorism was laid in the country when the MQM entered politics,” Sharif said while concluding his fourth visit to the flood hit areas of Sindh. “Never before did terrorism have any place in the country’s political landscape.”

Sharif, who addressed a press conference in Sakrand tehsil of Shaheed Benazirabad before speaking to the media at Nawabshah Airport, said peace in Karachi was destroyed with the emergence of the MQM. “It is necessary for the people of Pakistan to prove whether they support good politics or want to live in terrorism of the militant wings,” he added.

Current government criticised

Although Sharif reiterated criticism of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government and termed it a failed set-up, he objected to the use of the slogan “Go Zardari Go”, saying it was not the proper name for his party’s movement.

When asked to comment on a letter supposedly conveying a message from President Asif Ali Zardari to US President Barack Obama, Sharif said he had not seen the letter. However, he did accuse the president of compromising the country’s sovereignty: “President Zardari has better feathers in his cap. He was showering praises on the US in that country’s newspapers when Abbottabad was attacked.”

Sharif also criticised the provincial and federal governments for failing to maintain their writ in Sindh, for the appointment of Fasih Bukhari as National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, and a lack of consultation over granting India most favoured nation status.

Sharif also criticised the delay in implementing the resolution passed at the All Parties Conference. Taking heart from the growing attendance of his public meetings, Sharif urged the people to vote for a change in Sindh.

MQM reacts to accusations

In a statement to the press, deputy parliamentary leader MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi “strongly condemned” PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s statements against the MQM and held him responsible for the “worsening situation in Sindh.”

Rizvi said Sharif had “always failed the nation” in times of crisis and had to seek forgiveness from generals to save him from jail. He also accused Sharif of corruption, pointing to the expansion of the Sharif family business empire.

MNA Waseem Akhtar told The Express Tribune that the MQM does not need to get “clearance” from the PML-N, as it is already the country’s third-largest party, coming to power through democratic elections. “What has Nawaz Sharif given the people of Sindh?” Akhtar said. “This is all a drama. He comes to Sindh and criticises the MQM. He gives aid to flood victims like he is giving them alms.”

Akhtar cited the increasing cases of violence against women in Punjab and the presence of militant networks to highlight the problems in Punjab, and the Sharifs’ unwillingness to solve these issues despite having an absolute majority in the provincial government.

“They are fooling people,” Akhtar said. “Nawaz Sharif is unnerved.”

(With additional reporting by Z Ali in Hyderabad and Saba Imtiaz in Karachi)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2011.

COMMENTS (1)

Mohsin | 12 years ago | Reply

He is only the head of oppostion party, is the opposition leader as well?

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