PML-N threatens to quit assemblies, force early polls
Move comes a day after former stalwart quit ruling party, and called upon opposition to resign from assemblies.
ISLAMABAD:
In a sign of worsening political turbulence, the already-boisterous opposition upped the ante against the government on Tuesday, threatening resignation from assemblies in the next two months and forcing early elections.
“The incumbent parliament has lost its worth and we may decide to resign from the assemblies within the next two months,” said Khawaja Muhammad Asif, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA, while talking to a private TV channel outside the Supreme Court.
Asif’s statement came a day after former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi left the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and resigned from his National Assembly seat. On Monday, Qureshi urged parliamentarians, particularly the opposition parties, to resign from the assembly which, according to him, has lost its worth.
“Let the people of Pakistan decide what is good for them and who is good for them,” Qureshi had said earlier, prompting the ruling party to swing into action and start a campaign to counter his allegations.
The PML-N’s new threat, meanwhile, prompted Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan to reiterate that the government is not in danger. “The government is not feeling any threat and will complete its tenure,” she said outside the Parliament House.
Another PML-N leader, Khawaja Saad Rafiq held a press conference in connection with PML-N’s upcoming rally in Faisalabad. The rally is being planned in response to the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) rally in Lahore, last month. During his briefing, Rafiq said his party wants to “dislodge the government.”
“We cannot give more time to the federal government to suck the blood of the nation”, Rafiq said.
After protest rallies, the PML-N has the option of sit-ins, long march for indefinite period as well as resignations from the assemblies, he said.
In the past, political parties eliminated governments with the help of establishment, Rafiq said, adding that now they will dissolve it under a legal and constitutional manner.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2011.
In a sign of worsening political turbulence, the already-boisterous opposition upped the ante against the government on Tuesday, threatening resignation from assemblies in the next two months and forcing early elections.
“The incumbent parliament has lost its worth and we may decide to resign from the assemblies within the next two months,” said Khawaja Muhammad Asif, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA, while talking to a private TV channel outside the Supreme Court.
Asif’s statement came a day after former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi left the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and resigned from his National Assembly seat. On Monday, Qureshi urged parliamentarians, particularly the opposition parties, to resign from the assembly which, according to him, has lost its worth.
“Let the people of Pakistan decide what is good for them and who is good for them,” Qureshi had said earlier, prompting the ruling party to swing into action and start a campaign to counter his allegations.
The PML-N’s new threat, meanwhile, prompted Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan to reiterate that the government is not in danger. “The government is not feeling any threat and will complete its tenure,” she said outside the Parliament House.
Another PML-N leader, Khawaja Saad Rafiq held a press conference in connection with PML-N’s upcoming rally in Faisalabad. The rally is being planned in response to the Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) rally in Lahore, last month. During his briefing, Rafiq said his party wants to “dislodge the government.”
“We cannot give more time to the federal government to suck the blood of the nation”, Rafiq said.
After protest rallies, the PML-N has the option of sit-ins, long march for indefinite period as well as resignations from the assemblies, he said.
In the past, political parties eliminated governments with the help of establishment, Rafiq said, adding that now they will dissolve it under a legal and constitutional manner.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2011.