Uzma Zahid Bukhari, a leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), told Waseem Badami, a prominent Pakistani journalist, that the party will expel every lawmaker who dares question Nawaz Sharif’s, former Prime Minister disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for not being honest and truthful in Panama papers case, narrative against the military establishment. She maintained that only Nawaz’s narrative is acceptable and “those having any problem with it can surely leave the party”.
The former ruling party is facing political backlash after its senior leadership unleashed criticism against the armed forces and its leadership. Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and other senior leaders, including former speaker national assembly Ayaz Sadiq, passed slammed the establishment for alleged political engineering in the country.
Nawaz Sharif named the Army Chief and DG ISI for political engineering in the country. “General Bajwa is responsible for installing incompetent Imran Khan,” he said while addressing PDM rally from London.
Similarly, senior PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) leadership is also targeting the security establishment and Urdu language.
PDM’s leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai in his speech had said “though Urdu is lingua franca, it’s not our language”.
Later on, MQM’s Faisal Subzwari said that the silence of all opposition parties against the anti-Urdu statement seemed to suggest that it was the collective narrative of the opposition.
“Rejecting Urdu as the national language and that too from a place located under the shadow of Quaid’s mazar is a matter of serious concern,” he said, adding: “The leadership of opposition should have demonstrated responsibility.”
Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) leader Maulana Shah Owais Noorani demanded an independent Balochistan in Quetta while addressing a rally of PDM. “We want Balochistan as an independent state. Today, Balochistan looks like an underdeveloped area of the country,” Maulana Owais Noorani said.
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PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq had said that “I remember Shah Mahmood Qureshi was in the meeting in which Imran Khan had refused to attend and Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa came into the room, his legs were shaking and he was. Foreign Minister said for God’s sake let Abhinandan go, India’s about to attack Pakistan at 9 pm”. Not only the foreign minister but also DG ISPR rubbished the statement.
Lawmakers quitting the party
Earlier, PML-N’s Balochistan President Abdul Qadir Baloch quitted the party. The News reported that Qadir has confessed to have quitted the party because of the senior leadership’s narrative. “I am a product of the Army and cannot stand by the narrative of disobedience since it would be extremely injurious to the country. I have taken the decision of parting ways with heavy heart,” said the retired General who commanded North Command as Corps Commander in Quetta and had also been governor of Balochistan.
Meanwhile, two PML-N MPAs Nishat Daha and Younas Ansari have said that their heads hang in shame because of MNA Ayaz Sadiq’s controversial statement.
Speaking at a press conference in Multan, PML-N MPA Nishat Daha said, “I am deeply saddened by the statement made by Ayaz Sadiq, my head hangs in shame on the statement of the former speaker.”
He said that if the leadership wants to please India, it should move there. He further said that today, as a PML-N member, he is ashamed. “The entire nation was hurt by the statements of Nawaz Sharif and Ayaz Sadiq, what they are doing is not good for the country,” he added.
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Younas Ansari said, “Our family has been in politics for 35 years but I am ashamed at what is happening in the National Assembly. Ayaz Sadiq should be remorseful at his statement.”
It is important to mention here that the PML-N has already announced to expel the five Punjab Assembly lawmakers for “violating” the party’s rules and meeting Chief Minister Usman Buzdar without permission.
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The decision, approved by senior party leadership, was announced by PML-N Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal. According to Geo News, the members to have been removed are Punjab Assembly lawmakers Ashraf Ansari, Jaleel Sharaqpuri, Faisal Niazi, Nishat Daha, and Moulvi Ghayasuddin. The inquiry against the aforementioned members came into effect with the approval of PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah.