Political crisis: PM’s resignation out of question, says Dar
Even as the political stalemate dragged on for another day, the government committee’s talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) failed to make any headway.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation was out of the question. “We have said the same about Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that he will only resign if he is proven guilty by the court.”
He said the PAT delegation demanded that an FIR be registered on the Model Town incident, which has already been done. “PAT’s FIR is exactly what their lawyers had given to the police. If there is some issue, it can be rectified,” he said.
“All the reforms agenda formulated by PAT will be considered and the government will look into options whether such changes could be brought through constitutional amendments or an executive order,” explained Dar.
Similar to Ishaq Dar and members of the government’s committee, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar criticised the “unconstitutional” demands of the protesting parties, claiming that they want to do away with democracy.
Regarding the sit-ins, he said, “This is not a political movement but an onslaught on the system by a group of disgruntled people.”
He said the government has accepted five out of six demands of the protesters but balked at the resignation of a democratically elected prime minister. All political forces are on one side and these two groups are on the other and are trying to implement their agenda through mob politics, Nisar maintained. Despite all of this, he said the protesters were allowed by the government to record their protest in a democratic way but when they were informed of their limits, they began using unlawful ways to force their demands.
“They are using children and women as human shields to enforce their demands. The protesters are also using different tactics to enforce their agenda.”
Later, addressing a press conference, Chaudhry Nisar accused Imran Khan of spurning the government’s offer of a commission to investigate the rigging allegations, form a jirga of parties and constitute a parliamentary committee to resolve the issue amicably. “How could the prime minister resign without the verification of the allegations?” he asked.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2014.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1730379446-0/WhatsApp-Image-2024-10-31-at-17-56-13-(1)1730379446-0-270x192.webp "pia plans fleet expansion to revamp flight operations")
These guys will probably sell their souls to remain in power. If Mr. Dar has any morality left he should stop supporting the violent PML-N regime. Your hand is full of the bloods of the innocent first in Model town Lahore and now Islamabad. Shame on you.
How about you resigning, Mr. Dar? Your laid back approach to appointing people on merit in the state-owned enterprises and the regulatory bodies is part of the reason why this government is criticized for poor governance. And the sad thing is, you lack of results doesn't even instill a sense of shame in you.