KARACHI: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said on Thursday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had not taken political parties into confidence over Operation Zarb-i-Azb even after several days of its launch.

Talking to reporters at the PPP’s media cell here, he said it ‘clearly shows’ how weak the prime minister and his coterie were, for they did not have the courage to face the opposition.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is surrounded by a weak coterie of individuals. He has no team...which is why he is getting entangled in different issues and finds himself further ensnared when a difficult situation emerges,” he said.

The opposition leader said that nothing, including the so-called long marches, could harm Mr Sharif’s government if he adopted a befitting and prudent approach to critical issues.

He reminded those calling for `revolution’ that revolutions could only succeed against dictatorships and not against democracy.

“It [revolution] has been a tool to be used against democracy in the past. General Yahya Khan led one revolution and General Zia forged another, the result of which is still haunting us all,” he said.

The PPP leader admitted that his party had been part of conspiracies and it too had its share of blunders in the past. “We made mistakes in 1993 and 1997, but we don’t shy in admitting them,” he added.

He asked Mr Sharif and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to apologise to the nation for making false claims of quickly ending loadshedding in the country.

“We confronted a series of issues during our previous five-year rule, but we faced them with a vision and it is about time Nawaz Sharif emulated our patience and prudence.”

He made it clear that his party was against privatisation of national assets and said it would not allow the government to sell organisations, especially those running in profit.

The leader of the opposition was not convinced with the Punjab chief minister’s claim that he was unaware of the Model Town incident till late night.

“It shows how inept the Punjab administration is. But such statements will not save them. They will have to be held accountable for the killings and everything happened that day.”

Mr Shah also criticised Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan for his repeated claim of bringing the symbolic tsunami to the country. He said tsunami was a sign of destruction which his party could never desire for.

“Our party believes in democracy. We prefer to talk in parliament, instead of on the streets. Imran Khan should also talk inside the house as it is not suitable to take to the streets when you have a parliament to resolve all issues,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2014