LAHORE – Former minister for Railways and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz leader Khawaja Saad Rafique clarified that PML-N was having concerns about specific individuals but no state institution was involved in the conspiracy to topple Nawaz Sharif.
Talking to newsmen in Lahore on Sunday, he expressed that the Panama papers were aimed at targeting Nawaz Sharif, Russian president Vladimir Putin and British premier David Cameron.
The ruling party bigwig expressed that the phrase of ‘Godfather’ used in the first judgment in Panama papers case was not acceptable.
“We were branded as mafia during the proceedings however, we did not raise concerns about the legal jurisdictions،” said Saad Rafique.
He went on and proudly expressed that ‘One Sharif was gone but another one was coming and in case, he also gets ousted, a third Sharif would replace him’.
The ruling party leader also wondered how six men can put forth such a rigorous report as formulated by the Joint Investigation Team.
“Six hundred people can produce such a report, but not six members,” he observed.
Khawaja Saad Rafique maintained that the government raised the issue of dubious WhatsApp call but the matter was not entertained.
“It was admitted that the picture of Hussain Nawaz was leaked through JIT sources but the culprit was not named,” he said.
The legislator went on and said that the allegations of money laundering and corruption were hurled at the premier but the disqualification was not the basis of such charges.
“Is the treatment meted out to the chief executive of the country just?” he asked and questioned who would lead the country if the premier would be ousted in such fashion.
The PML-N leader claimed that a dangerous game was being played to oust Nawaz Sharif and had it been someone other than him, he would have taken another path.
Rafique also admitted that it was their failure not to abrogate article 62, 63 of the constitution adding that they did not know it would transform to Article 58-2 B of the constitution.
“Would someone question the judges who took oath under the provisional constitutional order?” said Rafique and claimed that lawyers including Asma Jahangir, Ali Ahmad Kurd and other retired judges expressed concerns over the disqualification.
The lawmaker took aim at the traditional rival PTI and said that all the allegations put forth by Imran Khan proved false.
He also advised Imran Khan to mend his ways as they both would need to co-exist in political environment of the country.
He described that former military chief Pervaiz Musharraf and former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry would also be questioned.
The former minister slammed Awami Muslim League President Sheikh Rasheed as well and noted that an outright liberty was available to some individuals in the country who could utter whatever they desired.
“Bilawal! Don’t issue childish statements, your party is quantitatively bigger than you,” he advised the PPP chief.
