Defending the Constitution: ‘Confronting Parliament is like taking on the country’

PPP’s Khurshid Shah says sit-ins not the way to remove an elected prime minister.

PESHAWAR:

Opposition leader in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah asserted political parties were protecting democracy and the Constitution, not Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Khurshid was referring to the deadlock between the Centre and Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri, the respective leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek.

Speaking to reporters at the residence of PPP leader Syed Zahir Ali Shah on Wednesday after a meeting with a Waziristan jirga, Khurshid likened a conflict with the Parliament to a confrontation with a nation of 180 million people.

“Members of Parliament represent the people of the country,” said Khurshid.

He said it was crucial to defend the country’s democratic system, parliament as well as the media.

The PPP MNA also asked Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to take note of the fact that the army was being dragged into politics. This was giving the institution a bad name, said Khurshid.

He pointed out the proper way to remove the prime minister was to move a no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly. “Sit-ins are not the answer,” he stressed. “If the federal government can be removed by a smattering of 7,000-8,000 people, any party can send governments packing.”

The leader of the opposition stated the country could not survive without the 1973 Constitution. He added seasoned lawmakers drafted the document together, but today’s politicians are not even willing to sit down and discuss each other’s points of view.

Khurshid said the first peaceful transition of power to another democratically-elected government took place under the PPP tenure.

The PPP leader turned his attention to the plight of people displaced by the military operation in North Waziristan. He said around one million of them lived in a state of helplessness and nobody was doing anything to support them.

“The government is engaged in its own activities and leaders are busy wanting to remain prime ministers,” he quipped.

Khurshid said he would inform Nawaz Sharif about the complaints and grievances of the tribal jirga from North Waziristan.

Distracted by Islamabad?

Replying to a question, Khurshid said K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was in Islamabad and could not attend a ceremony held to distribute cheques to those affected by the All Saints Church blast. He added they tried to contact Khattak to attend the event, but he was unreachable.

The chief minister has been criticised by critics for leaving the province at a time when relief for close to a million displaced people needs to be overseen and torrential rains battered the provincial capital, leading to several deaths. One of his biggest critics is ANP President Asfandyar Wali, who said at a recent news conference the chief minister was busy attending a “dance party” in Islamabad while the people of his province suffered.

The chief minister also drew widespread criticism for refusing to visit China to discuss investment in various sectors, especially at a time when K-P’s economy is struggling.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2014.