Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan had signed the death warrant of the party with the cooperation of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri.
He was speaking to a delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers. Sharif said some elements had tried to humiliate the parliament but their efforts had been frustrated by the display of parliamentary unanimity.
The chief minister said he hoped more PTI leaders had the courage to follow in Hashmi’s footsteps so that they do not end up on the wrong side of history.
Sharif said Khan had signed the death warrant of the PTI by colluding with Qadri. He said Khan’s autocratic attitude had alienated the party leaders. The chief minister said they were leaving the party.
He said Khan had changed his stance time and again from the commencement of the Azadi March to sit-ins in Islamabad. Sharif said this had no parallel in the political history of the country. He said this had led Khan to political wilderness.
The chief minister said several parties had reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the parliament, upholding the supremacy of the Constitution and ensuring the rule of law. He said this was representative of the voice of the nation. Sharif welcomed the speeches by lawmakers in the parliamentary session and praised them. The chief minister termed it as an epoch making event in the political history of the country.
Sharif said the acumen shown by them boded well for strengthening the democratic process. He said Khan and Qadri had tried agitational politics but their initiatives had lacked popular support. The chief minister said every patriotic Pakistani had censured the attacks on the parliament, the prime minister’s house and the Pakistan Television building.
He said those trying to jeopardise democratic institutions should know that the public would hold them accountable if Pakistan was destabilised.
Sharif said if Khan had really wanted to change the country, he could have immediately started the process after the PTI was given the mandate to govern in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after the last general elections were held in May 2013. The chief minister said policy decisions in democracy were taken in the parliament and not on thoroughfares.
Sharif said the PML-N had always strived to resolve political differences by negotiations. The chief minister said the government had acted with exemplary restraint throughout the staging of long marches and sit-ins. Sharif said the government would continue acting with patience and restraint.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2014.
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Imran khan completed his last political inning . He has committed Political Harakiri the day he started Azadi march on the Azadi day.