Nawaz Sharif lashes out at PTI, PPP for being anti-democratic

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif came down hard on the ruling party's harshest critic, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party on Wednesday. 

Speaking to the media after attending the proceedings of the accountability court which is hearing three corruption references against him, Nawaz said, the "dictator’s black laws were rejected on the floor of the house yesterday".

He was referring to the rejection in the National Assembly on Tuesday of the Elections Amendment Bill 2017, which sought to restrict disqualified parliamentarians from heading a political party after 163 members voted against the proposed change in the legislation.

The Pakistan Muslim League-N president lamented the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) moving of the amendment bill, saying, "the PPP's support for this bill hurt me. The party's action has made me question their democratic credentials".

He added that the party's past struggles and sacrifices for democracy do not sit well with their present action [of supporting an anti-democratic law].

Talking about the PTI, Nawaz said there is nothing democratic about the party, adding that the PTI is not even a political party [due to its link with dictators]. 

‘Fascist-like party’

Later in the day, the former premier spoke to journalists at a hospital in Islamabad, where he was visiting MNA Rajab Ali Khan Baloch. 

He confirmed earlier claims of Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique who had alleged that members of the PML-N had received calls urging them to not attend the Lower House’s session yesterday.

“Some members of the party have told me the same [that they received calls to not attend the National Assembly's session yesterday],” he said. “This should definitely not have happened and we will certainly try to get to the root of the matter.”

When asked a question regarding the PTI, Nawaz referred to it as a ‘fascist-like party’ that is ‘running on the politics of lies and mudslinging.’

“I thought the time for the politics of mudslinging had passed but a few years back, PTI started it yet again,” Nawaz remarked. “They [PTI] are trying to destroy the nation’s culture and we will try to defend it at all costs.”

Nawaz had also claimed that his government was not allowed to work in an informal manner with journalists earlier today, and said that the country had progressed despite the sit-ins that started in 2014.

Referring to the courts' alleged lenient attitude towards PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Nawaz had said the rules of the game should be the same.

He had also stated that the court decisions in his case come swiftly and wondered when the decision on 'their' cases will come. "The courts' double standards are becoming evident," he said further.

Corruption scandals of PTI leaders Imran, Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan also surfaced, he added.

Nawaz had also hit out at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, a PTI leader, saying he used official vehicles to lead rallies against the federal government during the 2014 sit-in.