Pakistan’s main opposition parties on Sunday demanded an end to the country’s military leaders’ interference in politics, and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the military has gone from a “state within a state” to a ” state above state. “
For most of Pakistan’s history, there has been a military dictator at the helm or, when there was an elected government, the military ran a parallel government, Sharif said in a powerful speech at the conference that was attended by leaders of almost all the main opposition parties.
The PML-N leader addressed the All Parties Conference, hosted by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party, via video link from London, where he is receiving medical treatment. It is significant that some parts of the conference proceedings were censored on most local television channels.
The interference by the military has reached a point where, from being a state within a state, it was now a state above the state, Sharif said. “This is the root cause of all our problems.”
“Our fight is not against (Prime Minister) Imran Khan, but against the forces that have installed his illegitimate government in power,” Sharif said. While political leaders were constantly victimized in the name of accountability, army dictators escaped despite subverting the Constitution and committing all kinds of crimes, he added.
In contrast, he said, there were no accountability procedures against army generals and gave the example of Asim Saleem Bajwa, a retired general and now head of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority, whose undeclared possessions were exposed by the media. but no action was taken. .
“We want elected leaders to run the affairs of the country, manage the economy and decide on foreign policy.” Sharif said.
The former prime minister said that under the government of Imran Khan, Pakistan has been isolated internationally. “The Indian government took advantage of the weak and incompetent government to swallow Kashmir,” he alleged, adding, “even the friends of Pakistan did not support him when he protested.”
Sharif asked what agenda Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was working on when he attacked Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He was referring to the minister’s comments attacking the Saudi OIC leaders for what he called their “foolishness” on the Kashmir issue, which led to a deterioration in relations with Riyadh.
“When we pointed out that our friendly countries were warning us about our involvement in foreign affairs that was being done at the behest of the military, we were attacked and it became a scandal,” Sharif said. Now, Pakistan has to deal with the shame of trying to meet the targets set by platforms such as the FATF, he said, referring to the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog on money laundering and terrorist financing.
Sharif said the country’s economy collapsed, inflation rose while the Pakistani rupee is at a record low, and economic growth slowed significantly.
He warned his audience that in such a situation, “when the economy is weak, the country will not be able to defend itself from external aggression.”
Sharif demanded accountability for Khan’s own assets, his sister’s overseas assets and those close to the prime minister who had benefited from the country’s sugar shortage.
He said that state interference in public life in Pakistan had multiplied. He regretted the attacks on the media and the harassment of journalists. “The policy of divide and rule has spread from politicians to the media, lawyers, industrialists and even the judiciary.”
Sharif called for the supremacy of parliament and the sanctity of the vote.
Earlier, welcoming participants to the conference, former PPP President Asif Ali Zardari said that the current government’s witch hunt against politicians should end. “They have even dragged women from our families into these bogus cases,” he said.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told the conference that the time has come for a united opposition platform to fight against Prime Minister Imran Khan’s selected government.
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