LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said Nawaz Sharif is trying to make the parliament controversial and create conflicts with the judiciary for his personal gains.

“I do not support institutional conflicts,” he said while speaking to media persons after visiting the residence of late Asma Jahangir here on Wednesday.

Admitting that there are issues that needed to be addressed through judicial reforms, he said: “Nawaz Sharif does not want judicial reforms but a PML-N judiciary and this just cannot happen.

He said Ms Jahangir was an inspiration and was never afraid of speaking truth.

As the iconic lawyer wanted to create a progressive Pakistan, the PPP chairman said he too wanted to transform Pakistan into a modern Muslim state, where human rights of men, women and of minorities were protected.

Expressing his pain that the progressive Lahore and Punjab politics had fallen in the hands of extreme right Nawaz Sharif, Taliban, Haqqani network and Imran Khan, the PPP chairman said, “We will restore Lahore that is progressive, peaceful and prosperous”.

Bilawal said judicial reforms were part of the National Action Plan but the PML-N did nothing during its five-year tenure. The judicial reforms process should be done through a genuine and extensive debate amongst all stakeholders including lawyers, judiciary, civil society and the Parliament.

He rejected the idea that judges should make uncalled for statements and threaten to revoke legislation, which was not yet passed.

Terming Mr Sharif’s campaign “respect my vote” and “respect democracy” ridiculous, he said Nawaz, being prime minister, had attended just four sittings of the National Assembly and Senate twice.

He said: “It is a joke with the nation that the longest serving prime minister in the history, who still enjoys power in the Centre, Punjab, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, is behaving like an opposition.”

“Please stop wailing and do your work. People want their issues to be resolved,” he asked Mr Sharif.

To a question about Senate tickets being auctioned, Bilawal said such things should not happen and any accusation in this regard should be properly investigated.

“The system of involvement of money in politics introduced by Gen Ziaul and his prodigy Nawaz must end now,” he said.

About Malir SSP Rao Anwaar, the PPP chairman said he did not know and demand that the policeman be arrested.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2018