Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz speaking at the inauguration of the Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence in Arifwala. SCREENGRAB
LAHORE:
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday challenged PML-Q ministers to resign if they had reservations about her government, taking a fresh swipe at Federal Minister Chaudhary Salik Hussain amid an escalating war of words between the two coalition partners.
She also linked the criticism of her government to preparations for the upcoming general elections, insisting that political opponents were increasingly active as the electoral contest drew closer.
The federal government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, appears either unwilling to intervene or indifferent to the growing confrontation between a member of his cabinet and the Punjab chief minister, who belongs to his own party.
Salik Hussain has remained firm in his allegations of corruption against the Punjab government, while his party, the PML-Q, an ally of the PML-N, has repeatedly taken aim at Maryam Nawaz.
Asked why the PML-N should not remove Federal Minister Salik Hussain and his younger brother, Punjab Minister Shafy Hussain, if it believed the Chaudhary family was part of a wider political conspiracy against the provincial government, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said there was no reason to dismiss either minister.
“Why should we boot out any minister when our government has no issue with them?” she said, adding that those who had reservations about the government should resign themselves.
Her response effectively placed the responsibility for any possible departure on the PML-Q ministers rather than the PML-N leadership. It also lent weight to recent remarks by the PML-Q information secretary that the PML-N had neither given his party any ministries nor did it have the authority to take them away.
Maryam Nawaz was speaking at a ceremony in Jhelum for the distribution of Honhaar scholarships and laptops among students. She said opposition parties were stepping up their political activities as the next general elections approached, but maintained that meaningful development work, rather than rhetoric, would ultimately win votes.
She said those unfamiliar with public issues were trying to act smart and distract her from serving the people of Punjab.
“I swear I will not spare any minister if evidence of corruption emerges against them,” she said.
In an apparent reference to Moonis Elahi, son of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhary Parvez Elahi and a cousin of Salik Hussain, Maryam said those associated with corruption and bribery had earned notoriety but were still living outside the country.
“I am not claiming that corruption has been completely eliminated. But whenever I come across corruption in Punjab, I pursue the matter relentlessly,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has withdrawn Elite Force security provided to Federal Minister Chaudhary Salik Hussain, according to PML-Q Information Secretary Mustafa Malik, who criticised the move as an attempt to silence even constructive criticism of the provincial government.
“The information about the withdrawal of Elite Force security from Federal Minister Chaudhary Salik Hussain is correct,” Malik said, confirming the development on behalf of the party.
Reacting to the decision, Malik urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take notice, saying the provincial government was unable to tolerate even positive criticism.\”,RAMEEZ KHAN,National
13 Pakistanis died in Greek detention since 2000,.,ISTANBUL
