Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Khursheed Shah Sunday warned the government against running its affairs through an ordinance and said that it seems from the prime minister’s statements that the ‘dark clouds of dictatorship’ are looming.
Speaking to media in Lahore, Shah said his party would fully oppose the move if the government decides to run its affairs through an ordinance.”Governments are run through ordinance during dictatorships. It seems as if the government is becoming an alternative to dictatorship,” he remarked.
Shah said his party and the opposition are ready to cooperate with the government for law-making in the interests of the country.”PPP believes in the parliamentary system,” he said, adding that the government would be dealt a tough time if an ordinance is brought.
He expressed hope that the government would not be foolish to set up standing committees by itself, and said that the PPP would not become part of the standing committees until their traditional implementation.
Alluding to the prime minister’s recent plan to eradicate poverty from the country with the help of poultry, Shah remarked, “[Only] the hens laid eggs during the government’s first 100 days in power.”
Meanwhile, PPP leader Saeed Ghani said that NAB does not have the courage to summon Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan over ‘ill-gotten’ assets because the watchdog is not being used for accountability but for political victimization.
The statement by PPP leader came after NAB Rawalpindi summoned Asif Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto on December 13. Ghani said a false press release was issued on Saturday to keep the meeting between NAB chairman and the prime minister on Friday a secret. “NAB chief has become a puppet of Imran Khan and the institution has become only a tool in the hands of the prime minister to victimize his political opponents. Similarly, FIA is busy in media trial of politicians who politically oppose the prime minister,” he said, adding that the society will be destroyed if the institutions are run with dual standards. “This will result in chaos and anarchy,” he warned.
Published in Daily Times, December 10th 2018.
