ISLAMABAD: Information Secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Qamar Zaman Kaira on Friday took strong exception of the proposal of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for inviting the army and judiciary to a political conference for evolving consensus on national issues.

The former Information Minister recalled that Shahbaz Sharif had plagiarized the idea regarding the role of judiciary and army in national consensus building from Awami Muslim League chief Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad.

Once a darling of Sharif brothers, Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad in a TV programme about four to five months back had played the symphony of a mandatory role for army and judiciary in the purely political task.

Kaira said with juggling of this idea it would be more appropriate for the Punjab Chief Minister to accept the leadership qualities of Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad. It would be more suitable for him (Shahbaz) to join the Awami Muslim League, he remarked.

“Shahbaz Sharif's proposal has exposed the democratic credentials of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership. This kind of idea stems from lack of trust in the abilities of political leadership”, he said.

The idea, he added, was totally against the spirit of Charter of Democracy.

The nation is united to confront conspiracies against democratic institutions and to defend the spirit of democracy, he hoped.