SUKKUR: Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, a veteran Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, has expressed his confidence that he will succeed in bringing all opposition forces to one platform in order to rid people of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government.
Speaking to local reporters on Monday outside the Sukkur Accountability Court after attending the hearing of a National Accountability Bureau reference against him, his family members and business associates, Mr Shah apprehended that petrol prices might go up to Rs150 a litre and US dollar would also rise to Rs200 as early as next month considering PTI government’s failure in controlling inflation, price hike and handling other issues of the national economy.
He ridiculed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement regarding a Rs120bn subsidy to provide some relief to the poor class in the unprecedentedly high prices of common commodities. This would not help control price hike but only increase burden on the economy, he said. Through the very recent increase in petroleum prices, an additional burden of Rs200bn was put on people, he observed.
Claiming that Mr Khan does not know anything about economy, he advised him to stop speaking on it. “Whenever he tells people that gabhrana nahin hey, it means something bad is going to happen with people or the system,” Mr Shah remarked.
The veteran politician described the overall increase in prices of almost all commodities during the PTI rule as a mega scam which, he said, would be discussed at all forums once “this selected government is gone”.
Citing his relations with leaders of other opposition parties, Mr Shah reaffirmed his resolve to bring all of them on one platform, and thanked the PPP leadership for encouraging him and trusting in his abilities.
“No doubt, all opposition parties maintain good terms with one another,” he claimed, and asserted that manifestos of PPP and PML-N were same. Regarding the existing distance between the two major opposition parties, Mr Shah said: “Decisions on different issues and political moves are taken in the light of the particular situation prevailing at a particular time. In politics, no decision is final and necessarily long lasting”.
Commenting on the strong stance taken by the PPP during Pakistan Democratic Movement’s previous ‘long march’ to Islamabad, Mr Shah said: “Our (PPP’s) stance not to tender resignations [by opposition lawmakers] ultimately resulted in strengthening the parliament”.
Earlier, Khurshid Shah and many of the other accused in the NAB reference appeared in the court, which adjourned the hearing to Nov 13.
Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2021
