LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has said that NAB is filing references not only against the opposition but also against the people from PTI.

“We are in favour of transparent and impartial accountability. Each party in PDM has its own narrative. Opposition parties contesting the by-elections and the Senate elections will also withdraw from the Long March,” the Governor said while talking to the media after a meeting with a PTI delegation from Spain led by Abdul Ghaffar at Governor’s House Lahore. Political Secretary to Governor Punjab Mian Kashif Iqbal, and Vice-Chairman of Overseas Commission Punjab Muhammad Wasim Ramey were present on the occasion among others.

The Governor said that we are not stopping the opposition from resigning but we say that when the opposition members resign, the Speaker National Assembly will accept these resignations and according to the constitution the Election Commission will announce by-elections.

Responding to a question, Chaudhry Sarwar said that the opposition had been trying to destabilize the country through protest rallies in 2020 but had failed in its intentions. He said that the government is not in any way concerned with the future political and protest strategy of the opposition. The government is ready to face the opposition on all fronts, but I think that the position will make rational decisions and will ultimately agree to begin a dialogue with the government, he added. The government is and will always be ready to talk to the opposition on all issues but there will be no compromise on the elimination of corruption.

He said whenever a member of the opposition is arrested, the opposition starts saying that it is political revenge, but the fact is that the affairs of accountability bodies including NAB have nothing to do with the government, he said, adding: “All institutions are working independently. “

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021