ISLAMABAD - Terming the MQM leaving the government alliance a ploy to manipulate the process of caretaker setup formation, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Ch Nisar Ali Khan made it loud and clear that they would not enter into any sort of consultation with MQM for the caretaker prime minister.
Addressing a press conference here at Punjab House on Sunday night, Ch Nisar came down hard on Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for tossing the names of parliamentarians in connection with fake degrees and questioned that who had given them mandate to insult the Parliamentarians.
Clarifying his position on fake degrees issue, Ch Nisar said he had done his O-level in 1968, A-level in 1970, graduation from Punjab University in 1972 while passed his masters examination from Islamabad in 1976. He said, instead of demanding O and A level certificates, the ECP had demanded from him Matric and Inter certificates. Talking about his spotless political career, Ch Nisar said that after his faith he values his integrity the most and cautioned the ECP against making irresponsible data about Parliamentarians public. He recalled that on same count he had sued the Higher Education Commission, which had later tendered apology to him.
To a question, he said he had not received any letter from prime minister regarding the caretaker prime minister and said he was busy consulting all the opposition parties on the matter and the moment they would finalise two names the same would be made public as well as they would be forwarded to the government for consultation.
To another question, he said case of Balochistan and Sindh assemblies were different as in Sindh the government had not notified the Leader of Opposition by design while in case of Balochistan Assembly, except Yar Mohammad Rind, rest of the members were part of the government.
He said during the PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif's visit to Karachi in next week they would definitely take up the matter with Pir Pagaro and would devise some joint strategy to counter the PPP-MQM design to manipulate the appointment of caretaker prime minister and caretaker chief minister in Sindh. To another question, he said they were holding the key to conduct national and provincial assemblies elections on the same day. To a question, he said the election campaign time should not be more than 60 days and in case the government would dissolve the National Assembly before the completion of its term, they would be getting 90 days period for holding of next general elections, which would have its own negative implications as the upcoming government would not get any time for preparing the annual budget.
Terming Malik Riaz Hussain the biggest tax cheat, Ch Nisar said according to tax ombudsman he was a defaulter of Rs 120 billion and wounded that how the free and independent media had a turned blind eye to it while Supreme Court of Pakistan, FBR and other government departments were also keeping mum. Casting doubts on the relief work he had done for the people during floods in the country some couple of years back, Ch Nisar also raised eyebrows about the recently inked multi-billion dollars deal of Malik Riaz with a UAE company. He said it was yet to be clarified that whose land was given to the foreign firm and why some open international bidding was not invited for the same. Nisar said he wanted investigation into the 'palace gift' for President Zardari by property tycoon.
He further said that he would take up the matter in the party and even if no one would support him he would be standing alone in the court against Riaz to expose his ugly face.
He further said that during one-month Governor's rule in Punjab this fellow had grabbed 44 kanal of land of poor people and the moment their government was restored all that land was retrieved from him and given back to their original owners.