MULTAN: Veteran politician Javed Hashmi says the country is passing through a critical time and the armed forces should not talk about weakening parliament.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the senior politician alleged that his opponent candidate in the October 2014 by-election to NA-149 had enjoyed support of the armed forces.

“The army chief is saying that there was no foreign minister for four years. Such statements should not be given publicly,” he added. He also said the army chief was the commander and such statements did not suit him.

The country needed Kulsoom Nawaz again and if she became the prime minister it would not mean distrust of incumbent premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The religious vote bank was separated in the NA-120 by-election under a plan and PML-N should take this seriously.

A formula to divide the PML-N vote bank had been introduced, he alleged.

Hashmi said a fall in PPP and Jamaat-i-Islami vote bank was not in the favour of the country as weakening of parties of the federation would strengthen the country’s enemy. He also said judges could not perform independently in their decisions. The Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif and such decisions were not impartial, he alleged.

“Anybody can use the Supreme Court to fulfil their designs. Many of the incumbent judges took oath from Pervez Musharraf,” he said.

The NAB levels baseless allegations and now it should prove its allegations against Asif Ali Zardari.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2017