PML-Q plans reference against Shahbaz

LAHORE - Opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has announced that his party will bring a disqualification reference against Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in next session of Punjab Assembly.

He termed the recent visit of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to US as a failure and demanded an inquiry into the flop visit.

Addressing a press conference at his residence on Sunday, the PML-Q leader said that the team of ministers travelling with the PM was full of incompetent persons which had made the present rulers a laughing stock in the entire world.

He said it was ridiculous that ministers defend policies of the government and state before the international community but in contrary to this, the cabinet members were conspiring against the security agencies of the country. The former CM demanded that the elements responsible for sending him on an unwanted visit should be brought to the book.

Criticizing the government's move against ISI, Pervaiz Elahi said the ISI was a reliable agency for defending the country. He said its credibility was recognised not only within the country but even the entire Islamic world believed in its reliability.  He added it was terrible that OIC had condemned US bashing of ISI but Pakistan's own ministers were involved in defaming the agency.

He said the coalition government had failed at the internal front also. It had miserably failed in controlling prices of various commodities. Flour crisis was staring into the eyes of the coalition government. People had not given them mandate for increasing prices of commodities, he said.

He said the party would bring a disqualification reference against CM Punjab as he could not hold the office because many cases were pending against him including his doubtful election from PP-10.

He lambasted the Shahbaz-led government in Punjab for its failure in controlling flour crisis. He had failed in putting the bureaucracy to work. Bureaucracy itself was not cooperating with him because it knew that he would be disqualified sooner or later, he said. He also asked the provincial government where all the bullet-proof vehicles had disappeared as they had not been auctioned as was claimed by the government.