LAHORE:
Referring to the protest sit-ins of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in the federal capital, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday that this “tiny storm will fizzle out in a few days”. “A few thousand people can’t take democracy and parliament hostage,” he told a gathering of TV anchors and analysts at the residence of a columnist in Lahore.
The premier said it wasn’t possible for him or his government to fulfill the “illogical demands of a few thousands protesters” gathered outside the Parliament House. He added that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), had been voted to power by 150 million voters, and Parliament has passed a resolution in support of democracy, Parliament and the rule of law. Nawaz said it wasn’t democracy to gather a few thousand protesters in front of the Parliament House and try to take the parliament hostage. “It’s a small storm,” he added. The premier said the PTI’s demands for electoral reforms and formation of a judicial commission have already been met and whatever the commission decided he would accept it.
He said that it was unfortunate that the sit-ins have damaged the national economy and hoped the country would be brought back on the track to development. He called upon the participants of the sit-ins to think about the losses their protests have inflicted on the country.
Nawaz said that Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen and Sri Lankan leader Mahinda Rajapaksa had cancelled their scheduled visits to Pakistan. “Now the Chinese president is scheduled to travel to Pakistan during which several energy projects will be finalised,” he said and expressed apprehensions that the sit-ins could create hindrance in the visit.
Asked about the PAT and PTI demand for his resignation, the prime minister said that the government has already accepted all legal demands of the protesting parties, including electoral reforms and formation of a judicial commission to investigate complaints of alleged rigging in the 2013 elections. “The demands that were acceptable have already been accepted,” he added.
The prime minister said that he didn’t have power to dissolve Parliament and provincial assemblies. “They [protesting parties] are demanding the dissolution of the assemblies which is an extra-constitutional step,” he added.
Nawaz said he was at loss to understand why Imran Khan pitched in when Dr Tahirul Qadri decided to storm Islamabad even though all issues of the PTI were resolved during his last visit to the former’s residence in Bani Gala. “May be they synchronised their plans in their dreams,” he added sarcastically.
Asked what would happen if the sit-ins continued, the prime minister said, “You have seen how many people are there at the protests. There is an ocean of empty chairs at the sit-ins.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2014.
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