Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah said on Saturday that Article 62, 63 had been included in the Constitution by General Ziaul Haq.

Addressing a meeting of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists on Saturday, he said that the law introduced by Zia had now been used against his “sons”. “Nawaz Sharif chose for his defence those who only knew how to hurl abuse. The government itself is responsible for the prevailing situation. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has proved that no one among the party MNAs is eligible for premiership and brought a candidate out of the provincial assembly,” he said. Later, while addressing a press conference, he hailed the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panama case.

“Independent decisions by institutions make the state and system stronger,” he said. He urged all political forces to accept the decision of the SC and work for the progress and prosperity of the country.

Khursheed Shah, however, said from the day one, he had been asking Muhammad Nawaz Sharif that the Parliament was the real source of his strength. “I had been telling Muhammad Nawaz Sharif that Parliament was the source of his strength. So he should give it respect and dignity,” he said.

He regretted that PML-N had opted to stay away from the Parliament and the masses.

“The PPP had always supported democracy and is committed to doing so in future,” he said. The opposition leader said that Pakistan People’s Party had always rendered unmatched sacrifices for democracy. “Benazir Bhutto sacrificed her life for the sake of democracy. That is why her name is still alive in history,” he said.

Shah contacted leaders of the opposition parties to field a consensus candidate for the office of the PM.

The opposition leader stayed in Islamabad on Saturday on the instruction of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to get the opposition parties to agree to a joint candidate.

Khursheed Shah met Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s Chaudhry Pervez Elahi to discuss the proposal.

Published in Daily Times, July 30^th , 2017.