Shahbaz requests SC to intervene for equal playing field

Lahore: Khadim-e-Punjab Shahbaz Sharif Wednesday said that the Supreme Court should take notice of presence of biased officials in important political and administrative institutions of the country in order to ensure fair elections.

Speaking to reporters in Karachi, he said that the caretaker government in Sindh was in fact continuity of Asif Zardari’s government, adding that impartial and free elections were not possible under the interim set-up. “The people of Pakistan question why the PPP-appointed officers in provinces other than Punjab have not been changed. Are fair elections going to be held in Punjab only?”

The former CM said that it was hard to comprehend what had prompted Pervez Musharraf to contest elections. “He must understand that he had overthrown a democratic government in a coup and the Supreme Court has declared him usurper for breaching the Constitution twice.” He said that people of Pakistan dislike Musharraf and they blamed him for pushing the country into the menace of war on terror and drone strikes.

“He is also to be blamed for the killing of Akbar Bugti and striking a deal for the handover of Aafia Siddiqi,” Shahbaz said. He added that May 11 would mark the dawn of a corruption-free Pakistan, as people would reject the PPP. “The people of Sindh must not trust the caretaker provincial government and they should not let it steal their mandate.”

Shahbaz asked why couldn’t other provinces launch mega schemes free of corruption like Punjab. “While federal and provincial governments other than Punjab spent billions of rupees on new planes, helicopters and bullet-proof vehicles, we saved Rs 18 billion through our prudent policies against corruption,” he said, adding, “I did not spend even a penny from the national exchequer on my treatment of cancer although I was entitled to all such funds.”