Gilani scoffs at PML-N’s criticism of NA speaker
Premier says PPP is stronger than all other parties in terms of power.
NAROWAL:
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani continued to defend the National Assembly speaker in the aftermath of her decision to dismiss calls to disqualify him following his conviction in a contempt of court case.
Addressing a rally in Narowal on Saturday, the premier scoffed at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s calls for him to step down, whimsically questioning the party leadership’s rhetoric in the aftermath of the speaker’s decision.
“One [Sharif] brother says that he doesn’t accept the president, the other brother says he doesn’t accept the prime minister. Now, a new person has emerged, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who says he doesn’t accept the speaker. What kind of a leadership is this?”
He claimed that no party was stronger than the PPP in all four provinces, in terms of power and mandate.
Gilani criticised the threat of a long march by the Punjab government against the federal government, and said that “the right time for a long march was during former dictator Pervez Musharraf’s era, when judges were in jails and the media was restrained.”
Taking a jibe at PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, he went on to add that “you should have come back from Jeddah and held a long march for the people and the judiciary. You made a deal and left the country. We are the ones who fought for democracy,” Gilani claimed.
Premier Gilani reiterated that PPP’s victory in the recent by-elections reflected the party’s popularity among the masses.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2012.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani continued to defend the National Assembly speaker in the aftermath of her decision to dismiss calls to disqualify him following his conviction in a contempt of court case.
Addressing a rally in Narowal on Saturday, the premier scoffed at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s calls for him to step down, whimsically questioning the party leadership’s rhetoric in the aftermath of the speaker’s decision.
“One [Sharif] brother says that he doesn’t accept the president, the other brother says he doesn’t accept the prime minister. Now, a new person has emerged, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who says he doesn’t accept the speaker. What kind of a leadership is this?”
He claimed that no party was stronger than the PPP in all four provinces, in terms of power and mandate.
Gilani criticised the threat of a long march by the Punjab government against the federal government, and said that “the right time for a long march was during former dictator Pervez Musharraf’s era, when judges were in jails and the media was restrained.”
Taking a jibe at PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, he went on to add that “you should have come back from Jeddah and held a long march for the people and the judiciary. You made a deal and left the country. We are the ones who fought for democracy,” Gilani claimed.
Premier Gilani reiterated that PPP’s victory in the recent by-elections reflected the party’s popularity among the masses.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2012.