Rule of law should be same for all, says PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. PHOTO: FILE
QUETTA:
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has called former president Pervez Musharraf’s escape from the courtroom ‘contempt of court’ and reiterated the need for principle of non-discrimination in law for the layman and the powerful.
Without naming anyone, he said that they still have to prove whether to bow down before the law or bring the law in subservience of the powerful. He held the Islamabad police chief answerable for Musharraf’s escape from the court.
The PML-N chief was in Balochistan to offer condolences to his party’s provincial president Nawab Sanaullah Zehri on the death of his brother, son and a cousin in a roadside bomb attack earlier this week.
“Incidents, such as the one that occurred with a tribal chief of the province, can create further hurdles in the restoration of peace in Balochistan,” he said. “A transparent and fair investigation should be ensured.”
Nawaz called upon the masses to come forward on May 11 and vote for ‘genuine leaders’ of the province who could take help find a solution to Balochistan’s festering problem.
“People were protesting against increasing ‘kill-and-dump’ cases, but the so-called former elected government did not take any steps to restore order in the province,” he added. “Such non-serious attitude has plunged Balochistan into turmoil.”
Balochistan has been plagued by a deadly tribal insurgency since 2004 which became deadlier after the killing of Baloch chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation in 2006. Sectarian extremists and Taliban militants have also benefited from the fluid security situation to create safe havens in the province.
The PML-N chief reminded the federation of its responsibility to restore order in the province. “The writ of the government is non-existent in Balochistan and until it was established, the security situation will not improve,” he added.
Describing democracy as the only solution to the Balochistan conundrum, he said free and fair elections would end the multiplication of problems in the province. He said it has been a tradition in democratic countries that irrespective of the law and order situation, the electoral process was never obstructed.
Responding to a question, Nawaz said the PML-N has already brought change in the country. During the PML-N’s rule the country was on the road to development, however undemocratic forces halted the process, he said referring to the 1999 ouster of his government by Musharraf in a coupe.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2013.
COMMENTS (5)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@Salman: "Haha nice, Mr. nawaz but what about the time when your people stormed into the SC? :)" . Here we go again. The next thing would be blaming NS for the bank loans being written off.
Haha nice, Mr. nawaz but what about the time when your people stormed into the SC? :)
So hiw about mr shareefs court relationships in the past
The Court has not held Musharraf ,guilty of contempt of court. Anyway,a great institution like judiciary ,should free itself from the outdated concept of contempt of court. Read Asma Jehangir's article on this subject,where she has said that in contempt proceedings,one fight with one's hands tied. What about contempt of litigants? Does not a corrupt judge commit contempt of court? Anywhere in the world,has any corrupt judge been charged with contempt of court? The answer will be in the negative. What are the guidelines on contempt? Does expressing opinion about courts and their functioning,amount to contempt? No politics should be played on this issue.
What is the problem here? There is nothing new here. These tinpot dictators are expert in running away when the going gets tough. This is not the first time nor the last time that they are running away instead of facing the facts like a man.