ISLAMABAD, Aug 30: The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has rejected the election of Shaukat Aziz as prime minister and termed it 'open violation of democratic process'.
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the party's Central Working Committee (CWC) here on Monday, PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said the whole election process was 'blatantly rigged'.
Flanked by acting parliamentary leader of the PML-N Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and general secretary Saranjam Zamindar, Mr Haq condemned the National Assembly speaker for not issuing production order of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on election day.
He said the CWC had also passed a resolution "condemning the denial to Makhdoom Javed Hashmi his right to participate in election process as a candidate for premiership, terming it a fascist action of the ruling clique".
This attitude of the ruling clique not only contradicts its claims to decency and toleration, but has also disgraced the parliament, says the resolution. Replying to a question, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan claimed that the decision to boycott the election was taken by majority members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD).
As many as 95 per cent ARD members wanted to boycott the election if the speaker did not issue Mr Hashmi's production order, Mr Nisar said who himself was not present in the whole ARD meeting in which the decision to boycott the polls was taken.
Raja Zafarul Haq said the meeting was of the view that changing three prime ministers in a short span of time was a "childishly dictatorial game of Gen Pervez Musharraf", which was extremely dangerous for the nation and the country.
Through the resolution, the PML-N members also expressed their concern over the current situation in Balochistan. The Balochistan situation is a result of "incompetence, arrogance, self-center edness and ignorance of national interest on the part of the rulers", Mr Haq said while reading the resolution.
"It is the considered opinion of the meeting that oppression, threats, building new cantonments, military operations and killings would only strengthen negative forces and weaken patriotic elements," he said, adding that all such actions, therefore, must be stopped forthwith, and an effective long-term programme be launched in consultation with genuine representative elements of the province.
The PML-N chairman also rejected the accusations of the former interior minister against former party MNA Javed Ibrahim Paracha of having links to terrorists. "The charges are based on the minister's prejudices and anti-Islam attitude," he said.
He said the PML-N was opposed to all kinds of terrorism. He said the present rulers' actions of arresting innocent citizens and torturing them under fake allegations of terrorism were violation of the Constitution and negation of all values of basic human rights, decency and morality.
The meeting, he said, rejected claims of economic progress by Gen Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz as mere deception, because growing unemployment, rampant poverty, rising prices and increasing incidents of suicide amply proved the failure of their economic policies.
He said Shaukat Aziz himself had no confidence in his policies and the consequent environment as he had kept all his moneys in British and American banks. "Had he any confidence in Pakistani banks and his own policies he would have brought his capital to the country and invested it here," Mr Haq said.
Expressing concern over the growing lawlessness, robberies, terrorism and crimes against women, this meeting considers this situation a result of "incompetence and negative policies of the Musharraf administration", Mr Haq said.