Nawaz himself supported Article 62: Khursheed

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah has said that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has fallen victim to his own obdurance as he had not accepted a request of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to repeal the Article 62 during the drafting of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. "The Article 62 (1) (f) under which the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding a public office for life was given by a dictator Zia-ul-Haq. The PPP government in its tenure wanted to repeal the Articles 62 and 63 during the legislation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment but Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership did not want to do so," the opposition leader Friday said in a press conference in reaction to the Supreme Court's decision against Nawaz Sharif.
He said that Sharif had supported the retention of Article 62 with a view to using it against politicians from opposition. He said that the PPP had repeatedly asked Sharif to resolve the issue of the Panama Papers in Parliament but he did not accept PPP's offer and instead approached the Supreme Court. "The PPP always believes in the supremacy of Parliament. If Parliament is respected then decisions are made by the people and Parliament. You will lose your politics if you do not accept the supremacy of Parliament and the Constitution," he said.
He said that the apex court gave its decision under the Constitution and now Sharif should accept it whole-heartedly. Answering a question, he said the PPP acted upon the Charter of Democracy (CoD) almost completely. He said politicians ceded more space to the courts, which is borne out by the ousted premier going to the Supreme Court instead of Parliament for redressal of his grievances. His party is in power while he is being punished, he said.
Referring to the upcoming general elections, the opposition leader said it remains to be seen what the people of the country decide. Shah regretted that some people backed dictators for the sake of power, but the PPP always believed in the supremacy of Parliament. Meanwhile, PPP Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Dr Nafisa Shah has said that the Supreme Court judgement about disqualification of Mian Nawaz Sharif and Jehangir Tareen should be accepted.
She said that the PPP has always stood up for parliamentary democracy, and constitutional rule. "We gave Mian Nawaz Sharif an opportunity to make himself accountable before the Parliament in the Panama scandal. He preferred to take the matter to court," she said in a statement. She said that PPP wanted to amend the Articles 62 and 63 when the 18th Amendment was being drafted. Nafisa Shah said that today both PTI and PML-N, which preferred to fight their battle in the courts, have been caught in their own traps.
She claimed that both PTI and PML-N have weakened the Parliament. She said the courts have taken the space of the Parliament because both these parties dragged the courts into political issues.