Nawaz hopes new DG ISI will not meddle in politics
March 18, 2012
He was addressing a press conference here on Sunday after arriving in London from Switzerland a day earlier where he was on a private visit with his family members. Marvi Memon, Lord Nazir ahmed, Furmanullah Khan Marwat, Shahid Khakan Abbasi, Dr Anjum, and Zubair Gull and many others were present on this occasion.
Sharif alleged that Pakistan People’s Party government was busy currying favour with the establishment in a grand conspiracy in order to stay in power and weaken the democratic process but he resolved that no matter what the temptations his party will never become part of the conspiracies hatched by the secret agencies to manage politics.
He said the character of the spy agencies should not be to take over the offices of political parties and indulge in horse trading as they did during Musharraf’s rule to help Q-League. He said if he comes to power, he will debate the army’s budget in the parliament and added that the current government had failed to do this.
Nawaz Sharif asked the government to stop disrespecting institutions and said it was a joke with Pakistani nation that its elected prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani asked children on how to dodge the Supreme Court orders. He said Gilani couldn’t show character when he first criticised the “state within the state” and then retracted it by saying that he begged the ISI chief to take extension. He said a country like Pakistan deserved much better than the current set of rulers.
Nawaz Sharif said his party made mistakes but had learned the lesson with intention not to deviate from the right path and had learned to stand by his democratic principles and never be part of the sinful circle of politics that some quarters always wanted.
He said his party is called anti-establishment by the ruling coalition in centre just because he has refused to sacrifice democratic norms for the sake of power. “If our position is not liked by the establishment then they are free to do so but there will be no compromise on truth and don’t expect any conspiracy from us,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s survival was linked to democracy and transparency and the fact that the mandate of the people was supreme.
Nawaz Sharif said that he had never seen or met Younis Habib in real life till his appearance on television in recent days when he levelled the charge that he had paid Rs3.5 million to Nawaz Sharif in person.
“I have no idea why Younis Habib is doing it and on whose behest although there is a lot of speculation about his character in the media. What I know for a fact is that he is a highly discredited man who brought financial ruin to his bank. Shahbaz Sharif has given him a proper reply.”
Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan was in a very difficult phase, created by the PPP government, but there was no reason to be pessimistic and there were ways to take the country out of the crisis. He said he formed alliance with Benazir Bhutto – and later with Asif Ali Zardari – in the same spirit of supporting democracy and with realisation that the PPP leadership will be a partner in the process of reform but they showed over time that their only goal was to stay in power and amass wealth at any cost, without recognising the heavy price the country was paying for their excesses.
He said his party pulled out from the coalition after realising that President Asif Ali Zardari didn’t have a vision and had no regard for the accord they had jointly signed for a democratic set up. He said when he realised that staying in the government would mean being partners in crime of the current government then he decided to call it a day.
“We have never followed a personal agenda but when we saw that PPP was motivated by greed we parted our ways. We are Pakistan friendly but the charge of friendly opposition is wrong. If Zardari was sincere Pakistan would have been leading the way of progress in the entire South Asian region.”
He said his party, after coming to power, will end Pakistan’s isolation in the world community, will curb terrorism, and will restore the status of Pakistan as he did after deciding to go for nuclear blasts.
He said it was important to inform the public about who was responsible for bringing Pakistan to this stage. “Zardari and Gilani have failed to make Pakistan a forward looking country, they have failed the public mandate. It’s our misfortune that military generals impose martial laws on Pakistan without caring for Pakistan’s interest. It doesn’t matter for them whether they arrest or send out or hang politicians. This is what our character has been in the last 60 years.”
Nawaz Sharif said it was right that a judicial commission was investigating the Memorandum scandal and should see if anyone involved in conspiring against the interests of Pakistan. He said the memo inquiry will help strengthen democracy in Pakistan.
Marvi Memon hoped that PML-N aimed to form the next government in provinces and the centre. She said there was a heavy responsibility on the workers of the party to respond to the calls of the Pakistanis who were gasping for change and needed effective leadership in the shape of Nawaz Sharif.
Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham said overseas Pakistanis loved him and praised Nawaz Sharif for taking a strong stance on Balochistan. “This government is full of corrupt and crooked people. This government has taken corruption to a new height, never seen before in the history of Pakistan.” He said those who were on Britain’s social security system have become millionaires after looting the resources of Pakistan. He asked Nawaz Sharif to support the representation of overseas Pakistanis in Pakistan’s electoral process.
Zubair Gull welcomed Marvi Memon in the party ranks and said her decision to join the party had proved that graph of PML-N was on the rise. He said Nawaz Sharif’s politics was for the survival of Pakistan. He said those who had left the party were opportunists but the time will prove they were misguided.
