ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said on Friday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said several times that the cases against President Asif Ali Zardari had been created for political motives under pressure.
In an informal conversation with reporters outside the Parliament House in Islamabad, the senior Pakistan People's Party leader said that he was immensely disappointed by the formation of a two-member committee by the government to probe the Swiss cases against President Zardari.
Shah hinted that using the Swiss cases as pressure tactics to "choke the PPP" may result in “dangerous” consequences.
He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has himself accepted not once but several times in his television interviews that the cases against Asif Ali Zardari were created by him but by former chairman of the Ehtesab Bureau Saifur Rehman under pressure.
The senior PPP leader said that over the past 17 years, Pakistan had spent millions of rupees on the Swiss cases, but no evidence was revealed to incriminate Asif Ali Zardari. He said that the judiciary should act in such a manner that justice is served to everyone, and that only one political party does not have to bear the brunt of the court's ire.
He said that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) should now decide how to implement the verdict of the Asghar Khan case.
The opposition leader said that no formal consultations had been held over the name of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, and that he had only had an informal conversation with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar over the topic.
Shah said he was of the view that Article 6, which speaks of treason, should be applied on all those who subverted the Constitution since October 12, 1999. However, he feared that it may be difficult to prove the treason charges on former military dictator General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf. “Will it really be possible to prove in court that Musharraf's actions fall under the ambit of Article 6 of the Constitution?”
Shah contended that the opposition was firm on its stance on the treason case, and urged the government to act quickly lest the courts release the former dictator.