Kh Saad blew fire upon dictators , opposition and the anchors

Lahore : Pakistan Muslim League-N central leader and Pakistan Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq has said that the PML-N is being made target of hatred and revenge continuously.

Addressing an Eid Milan party, organised by the PML-N workers at a local hotel in NA-125 here on Sunday, he said that the PML-N would not respond in inappropriate language that its opponents were using.

“It is the right of every political worker to express whatever he feels, but these words should not hurt their opponents,” he added.

The minister said that hate and blame-games had been abandoned after signing of the Charter of Democracy (CoD) between Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif many years ago. “Some political puppets were not happy with the CoD at that time and they even criticised it,” he added.

He said that the CoD was one of the best documents of the national history and the goal was achieved after struggle of 60 years by political leadership of the country.

He was of the view that the CoD ensures supremacy of the Constitution and it ensures working relationship among national institutions within the ambit of the Constitution.

The minister said that hate-lovers do not like the CoD, as it was an agreement of peace and harmony. “It is my responsibility to bring to light the reality and no one can stop us from speaking the truth,” he added.

Kh Saad said that the PML-N was one of those parties which struggled against dictatorship and for restoring democracy in the country. “When we took charge of the government in 2013, there was terrorism everywhere, killings were continuing in Karachi, people of Balochistan were being murdered, the country was facing severe energy crisis, roads were broken across the country and economy was in a shambles,” he said.

The minister said that the Constitution was not fully functional and the institutions were not working in unison. “Now when we are trying to streamline the issues of the institutions, leg-pulling is going on against us,” he complained.

Khawaja Saad said that the goal of this freedom had been achieved after a long struggle and the PML-N would not allow it to be reversed. He said that in the local government elections, people once again reposed their trust in the PML-N.  “What is the other method to adjudge the will or trust of the people?” he questioned.

Criticising the electronic media, he said that  some channels did allocate most of the time of talk  shows to the parties which had less than thirty per cent seats in the parliament and the PML-N was not  given proper time.

Saad said after failure of sit-ins and allegations of rigging, the opponents used Panama Leaks issue against the PML-N, which was not even acknowledged by the Panama state itself.

He said that there were names of leaders of several countries in the Panama Papers, but nothing happened in those countries. Only one political party was being targeted in Pakistan, he said adding that in fact it was a conspiracy against Pakistan. “Prosperity of Pakistan was perturbing its enemies, but now no one can stop us from making progress after initiation of the CPEC project,” he added.

Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that India, Israel and  the enemies in the garb of friends, knew it well that  it would be impossible for any country to take away  their Raymonds (from here without the legal process)  if Pakistan gets financially strong. “No country will be able to dictate us if we do not beg for financial help from the world,” he added.

The minister said that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif did not bow his head before anyone other than Allah Almighty, and so he was being punished. He said the world threatened nation that it would have to face problems in case of nuclear tests, but nothing happened and Pakistan is developing and flourishing with more dignity. “There were specific journalistic characters who conduct talk shows after getting ‘dictation’ and use inappropriate language against politicians,” he said and asked “if this character assassination is journalism or politics.”

Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that voters could not be befooled as the love for democracy had not diminished and decreased in people. He said that Pakistan had not come into being through any guerrilla war, adding that it was the result of a democratic struggle, and it would eventually weaken without democracy.

He said every time, martial-laws introduced fake democracy, and the elected governments were removed, adding that 8 to 9 prime ministers had been removed forcibly so far. He said that it was Nawaz Sharif who launched a struggle for restoration of judiciary and decided to wage a long march for the purpose, despite all odds.

The minister said at that time it was the stance of Nawaz Sharif that the country would become a state without a Constitution if the judiciary was not restored. “And when judges were restored, we immediately returned to Lahore. Even Imran Khan wanted us to continue our long march, but we did not put any other demand,” he added.

He said that the PML-N was the party which was never appreciated for its good work and endeavours. He questioned intellectuals of the country including politicians and journalists as to who could compete with the PML-N as far as bringing prosperity and progress to the country was concerned.

Saad said that martial-law of Musharraf was an international conspiracy as the United States wanted to invade Afghanistan and a government with two-thirds majority was not allowed to complete its tenure.

He called for letting democracy to prevail, adding that people could not be united through executive orders and people’s trust in vote would shatter if political parties were damaged. “Then people will resort to violence and the political leadership will not be able to do anything,” he warned.

He said that reservations of the PML-N were not listened and no action was taken when it complained about the leaking of Hussain Nawaz’s picture. “No one listens to us when foul language is used against us,” he added.

He said national institutions should be given  respect, and at the same time the parliament should also be held in esteem. “We had also struggled for democracy, then why should we not be given respect,” he questioned.

“Please, do not target us without extending proofs,” he said.

The minister said there should not be popular verdicts as these give temporary benefit, adding that decisions should be based on justice. He said that protection of democracy was a responsibility of all four pillars of the state and these should work within the ambit of the Constitution.

The minister said that it was a dream of elders that there would be the rule of Constitution in the country, but it is still to be fully realised. He appealed to his opponents to wait for few more months till the completion of the incumbent government’s tenure as, he added, the PML-N would not fall alone, but its leg-pullers would also go along with it.

He questioned why Pakistan People’s Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was using language being used by PTI Chairman Imran khan and his partner Sheikh Rashid.

Saad said that the Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq was also using the same words which were not conducive for national politics. He advised Imran Khan to be aware of his two leaders as they would leave him alone in troubles. “We do not want Imran Khan to quit politics,” he said.

He said that PPP leaders Raza Rabbani, Khursheed Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Murad Shah and Naveed Qamar are good politicians but, he added, there are few others who do not follow ethics.

He said that upcoming 10 to 11 months are important and wished that tenure of the PML-N government is completed like the previous PPP government.

The minister said struggle for democracy was still underway, adding that the PML-N would not let democracy derail in the country.