Talk to opposition, Saad Rafique advises PM.

Byline: Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD -- The main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday expressed fears that the present policies of the government could derail democracy in the country and asked the rulers to have a reconciliatory attitude towards the opposition.

'Advise your leader not to drag the opposition and not to engage them in cases. Mere allegations will not work... Show grace and talk to the opponents,' said PML-N stalwart Khawaja Saad Rafique while pointing to the treasury benches after criticising Prime Minister Imran Khan for 'ongoing political victimisation' of the opposition leaders.

'No one wants any concession from you, but the people of the country want relief,' Mr Rafique said while taking part in a general debate on the federal budget in the National Assembly which remained in session for more than 2 hours.

Criticising the government for handling coronavirus and locust attacks through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Mr Rafique asked the prime minister to hand over the government to the NDMA headed by a serving lieutenant general, if he could not run it. He said he personally knew NDMA chief Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal, who was a hardworking man and he had seen him working as head of the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

The PML-N stalwart warned that if the situation in Pakistan was not changed, then everyone, including the government, the opposition and all other institutions, would become 'irrelevant'. He regretted that 'civilians have not been able to govern the country, people are not getting justice, those who are responsible to provide security are unable to do it and the opposition is unable to unite'.

Asks Imran to hand over government to NDMA if he can't run it

He said if things were not changed, then tomorrow the youth would come out on streets and destroy everything in the country.

'After the fall of Kashmir, now the fall of economy has already occurred,' he added.

Mr Rafique said the government was not in a position and had no capacity to hold talks with the opposition. He said the government had been left with a majority of just votes. He, however, assured the treasury members that the opposition had no plan to bring a no-confidence motion against the prime minister.

He said the ministers had started giving statements exposing infighting which was a clear indication that the time of the government was about to run out. The PML-N leader said they had ridiculed the office of the...