HYDERABAD: PPP-Parliamen­t­a­rians (PPP-P) information secretary Maula Bux Chandio has said that the PML-N government cannot extricate itself from the present crises, adding that the prime minister will not be able to save his political heirs by making ‘innocent’ people scapegoats.

He was speaking to reporters on Thursday during his visit to an area where several houses were demolished a day earlier in the ongoing anti-encroachment drive launched by the Hyderabad Municipal Cor­po­ra­tion (HMC).

Mr Chandio expressed confidence that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would have to go soon. He recalled that Imran Khan’s [talk of umpire’s] finger could not upset the PML-N government. “It’s only people who will bring about change,” he said, adding that Mr Khan would learn from his “political failures”.

The senior PPP leader observed that the PML-N government was trying to push back one crisis with another one. “The [federal] government is confronted with the Panama and [Dawn story] issues and its anxiety was linked with the two issues. However, he observed, conditions would not let the government have an honourable exit.

He said Asif Ali Zardari had made it clear that the PML-N government would not be allowed to rule over the country and keep creating crises.

He said that [removed federal information minister] Pervaiz Rashid and Tariq Fatemi were made scapegoats and the latter had rightly stated that he had nothing to do with this [Dawn story] issue while the former was also innocent.

Regarding rejection by the Sup­reme Court of the nominees of the joint investigation team being formed under its order, Mr Chandio said that the prime minister wanted a JIT of his favourites but this did not happen. He said the JIT must comprise individuals whose integrity was beyond reproach.

SUKKUR: Senior PPP leader and former Punjab governor Sardar Latif Khosa, responding to questions about the situation arising out of the federal government’s recent statement regarding the probe into a Dawn story, said on Thursday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had become a ‘security risk’ and, therefore, should be prosecuted under the laws relating to national security.

He was speaking to the media outside the Sindh High Court’s Sukkur bench. He said corruption was eating up state institutions like termite.

Referring to the Panamagate JIT, he wondered how an accused in the case was authorised to nominate members of the JIT. “It would be better if the apex court itself forms the JIT,” Sardar Khosa, who is also a senior lawyer, said.

He said the SC should also see to it that the PM did not influence the JIT or intervene in its assignment.

He said it was quite a clear fact that in the ‘90s, Mr Sharif’s sons were too young to earn or manage billions of rupees.

“The countdown for the prime minister’s departure has begun and it’s a matter of days, I feel,” he said.

He remarked that if Mr Sharif preferred his businesses and friendship with Indians, he should move to India after relinquishing his post of prime minister.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2017