All parties in PDM toeing Nawaz's line: Maryam.

ISLAMABAD: PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday said that since the PPP is not a part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) anymore, therefore it is not a priority now, a private TV channel reported.

"PPP is no longer a part of PDM, therefore, it should not be discussed now. PPP is neither my priority nor I have any competition with it," Maryam said while speaking to media outside the Islamabad High Court. She said there are no differences in the PDM and everyone is on the same page. "We all share the same ideology and the parties in the PDM have the same position which Nawaz Sharif has," she maintained.

Maryam said the benefits of resignations would have been evident only if all the parties in the PDM had resigned, while the resignation of some parties would have been detrimental.

When asked about reports of US-Pakistan talks on military bases, Maryam alleged that such a decision could not be made through 'secret negotiations' and the government had not yet denied the reports. She said she would oppose hosting of US bases by Pakistan. "If you have made a deal for whatever reason - to save your government or compromised the country's sovereignty - tell parliament about your blunder. The nation has the right to know what deal the government has made to save themselves," she said.

Maryam also said that institutions are used for political revenge and ex-FIA director-general Bashir Memon's statement regarding the misuse of institutions is proof of that.

Maryam Nawaz also called for an independent inquiry to be held into former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui's statement in the apex court in which he said a senior intelligence officer visited him over verdicts he had issued as a high court judge. She said Siddiqui's case was "not the case of one judge", adding that he "should not be punished for speaking the truth". She said the judiciary should consider the cases against Siddiqui and incumbent Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa as "an attack against it, resist external pressure and give weightage to Siddiqui's statement". "Supreme Court must realise that judges are pressured to make [certain] decisions and those decisions tarnish their images. I want to say that he [Siddiqui] should not be punished for speaking the truth. Otherwise, all judges intending to...