Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khurshid Shah, has said that Imran Khan made a blunder by taking the Panama leaks issue to the Supreme Court.

“Had Imran taken it to parliament, it could have produced far better results, as parliament is the most superior forum of the country,” the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader said while talking to Daily Times on Tuesday. He alleged that the PPP was protecting democracy, while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was protecting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

He shared that his party had consultations on the Panama leaks with senior lawyers, including Aitzaz Ahsan, after which a unanimous decision was made; that the issue would not be taken to courts, as it would not yield a fruitful result. “It was also decided that the Panama leaks issue will be best decided in parliament,” he added.

Khurshid Shah was of the view that Imran Khan did not have a clear-cut majority in parliament, “so if he picks a solo flight, he will not succeed. If he wants an in-house change, he has to make an alliance with the PPP.” Shah said that the PPP had rendered many sacrifices for democracy and would not be part of any movement that jeopardised the democratic system.

“Had we not supported democracy and the government during the PTI’s sit-in in 2014, democracy would have been history. We chose not to back Imran Khan to save the system,” he added.

The opposition leader advised Imran to bring flexibility in his attitude and consider joining forces with the PPP to bring down inflation, protect the rights of the people, eradicate corruption, and resolve other national crises, “only then a coalition can be formed between the PPP and the PTI.”

Khurshid Shah also criticised the policies of the government, saying that the anti-farmer strategy of Nawaz Sharif was condemnable. This strategy managed to push the agriculture sector to the brink of collapse, while on the other hand the textile sector was also deteriorating.

He warned, “If Nawaz Sharif does not take good steps for the betterment of the agriculture and textile sectors, the PPP will run a movement against the government. Once we are on the roads, countless problems will be created for the government”.

He said that the government should shun anti-people policies at once and adopt people-friendly policies so that the country could move forward on the track of prosperity.