The former Prime Minister and “the most popular leader in Pakistan” has demanded that the NRO beneficiaries should quit the government. The people ask him–what about the SRO beneficiaries that took advantage of his rule–those who made off will billions in profit by destroying the largest ship-breaking industry in the world–so that Ittefaq Foundry could have a monopoly on imported steel. What about those who wasted $1 Billion on a “wise men of gotham” scheme to waste $1 Billion on Yellow Cabs, when that amount could have been spent in purchasing an automobile factory.

What about the billions in loans that were written off during the regime of Mr. Sharif? What about the malpractices in governance which allowed the top leaders of the PMLN to take advantage of the seizure of the foreign bank accounts of Overseas Pakistanis.

What about the kickbacks to the Koreans for the import of junk cars? What about the wastage of funds on pseudo firms that do business in Saudi Arabia and England? The list of questions is long–and Mr. Shairf should also be held accountable.

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Quaid Nawaz Sharif has said that the democratic setup is endangered by the undemocratic moves from within the system and once again asked the rulers to remove all distortions from the Constitution including 17th Amendment and focus on good governance and rule of law in the country.

Talking to media after heading a consultative meeting of the party here at Punjab House on Saturday, Nawaz once again reiterated to extend all-out support to the incumbent political dispensation but quickly added that it did not mean that his party would compromise on principles.

He further said that the support to the PPP-led coalition government would be only on all the right things and asked the rulers to close the door of corruption, adopt good governance and ensure rule of law and follow the Supreme Court judgment on NRO in its true spirit.

Recalling the withdrawal of PML-N minister from the Federal Cabinet, Nawaz said that he was left with no option but to take this hard decision as the PPP was falling short of their promises.

He further said that even after stepping out of the Federal Cabinet, they sat on treasury benches but when they saw no ray of hope they were left with no choice but to sit on the opposition benches.

He said that it was ripe time that PPP-led government would come out with acts on the issue of constitutional amendments, enforcement of apex court verdict on NRO, adopt good governance and serve the cause of people of Pakistan.

Nawaz Sharif regretted that the PPP-led coalition government had yet to remove the distortions introduced in the Constitution by a dictator and added that had these distortions been removed from the Constitution soon after the establishment of the government, its graph would have gone much higher.

To a question on the government’s inaction on NRO verdict, Nawaz Sharif said that the government should have sought resignations from NRO beneficiaries first and added that the government should implement the orders of Supreme Court in letter and spirit. He said that rather these beneficiaries should themselves quit the official positions.
He further said that the government should also take stern action against all those whose loans have been written off as all those who had availed this facility were still enjoying luxurious life on the expense of hard earned taxpayers’ money.

The action should be taken against all the responsible elements involved in the process of writing off loans, Nawaz said and added that the nation’s wealth must be returned and spent for the betterment of the nation.
“We demand four things of the PPP government. Firstly the government should implement Charter of Democracy in its true letter and spirit, secondly 17th Constitutional Amendment be repealed, thirdly the government should implement the orders of apex court and lastly the rulers must adopt all the rules of the good governance and work for the betterment of the nation,” he added.

“All the parties must continue consultations on the issues faced by the country. No single party can handle the issues faced by the country. The challenges faced by the country are very complicated and the unity is needed to face these challenges. All the parties need to work together for the betterment of the people and for the development of the country,” he added.

He said that 170 million people were waiting for the government to do something positive. He said that PML-N had always been accused of playing the role of a friendly opposition but it sincerely did its best to facilitate the people by highlighting the issues.

He also appreciated the role of Shahbaz Sharif and other CMs for playing a vital role in announcing the NFC Award.

Replying to a question, Nawaz said that they were not averse to meeting the government’s people including President Zardari but these meetings should be productive and result-oriented and the same should have some defined agenda.

He further said that his party had forwarded its plan on accountability and it hoped that the government would take advantage of their suggestions. He said that time of keeping them on promises was over and now they wanted to see actions and the ruling coalition should come up with some concrete steps on national issues.

CASTING himself in the Robin Hood character and also showing some Marxist views, Mian Shahbaz Sharif has called on the nation to recover the loans waived off between 1997 and 2009 from the corrupt. He also said that this money would be spent on public welfare. His warning that the persistence of social inequalities and the concentration of wealth and resources within a selected elite could result in a bloody revolution, amounts to presenting a doomsday scenario. Yet the warning cannot be pushed under the rug. When the inflationary pressures drive even the middle classes down the poverty line and the already poor find it increasingly impossible to cater for their basic needs, the situation becomes unpredictable.

The general public would like the looted wealth, written off loans to the tune of 193 billions, to be recovered. But it is also a fact that a number of cases in this category would have been genuine, like, for instance, those cash-strapped entrepreneurs whose concerns had gone down in the normal course of business. This happens all over the world. Deserving people should, therefore, be exempted. In Pakistan it is very rare that the government would provide relief to the class that does not have the ‘right’ connections. Somehow if poor folks received loans and had managed to have them written off they should not be punished. Their case is quite unlike the NRO beneficiaries, who constitute the richest people of Pakistan.

This is what fair play and justice is all about. Having said that, the state must not let the big fish off the hook. They are the ones who have not missed any opportunity to steal the nation’s wealth and resources. A common practice had been to start preparation for getting loans written-off at the time when they were applied for, thanks to the cunning ways and practices that were prevalent.

The gap between the haves and the have-nots was never as large as it is today, courtesy our ‘leaders’. Therefore, Mian Shahbaz’s commitment to erase such contradictions is welcome. The proclamations by the Sharif brothers in the past, referring to a certain segment of the leadership who had stored their wealth in the west, as traitors is also relevant. Storing the wealth in the banks abroad while posing themselves as innocent in front of the public here is nothing less than a criminal act. However, Mian Shahbaz ought to be brave and must answer certain questions. Recently a party spokesman stated that Hassan Nawaz owns a multi-million enterprise, the Flagship Investments Ltd, in London and has paid millions of pounds in tax to the government there. Apart from that, the family also runs a profitable business venture in the Saudi Kingdom. This would reflect poorly on the party’s commitment to transparency.