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India-Pakistan
'Chance to show unity missed' 'N' rapped for skipping governor's dinner
2013-01-09
If you're not united why in the world would you want to show unity?
[Dawn] Opposition on Monday rued a "missed opportunity" of what it called giving a strong message to the establishment that they are united to stave off the agenda it wants to implement through Dr Tahirul Qadri.

Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz not only castigated the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz for that but also vowed that People's Party would alone fight and won't let the establishment's 'plan' succeed.

Talking about the 'missed opportunity' on the point of order, Raja Riaz said Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood had invited all Punjab Assembly members, irrespective of their party affiliation, to a dinner reception to send a message to the establishment and "a troublemaker" (a reference to Dr Tahirul Qadri) that political forces were united.

"But Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif stopped his (party) MPAs from attending it (governor's dinner), showing his stubbornness.

Had the Sharifs given up their politics of arrogance, the 'troublemaker' would not have darted to threaten democracy," he said.

As Riaz was speaking on the point of order, the PML-N politicians started hooting. Riaz urged Speaker Rana Iqbal to control the treasury members and on his failure to do so, the opposition leader accused him of being part of the "planned move" to bar him from speaking on the issue.

"You are deliberately allowing the treasury members to shout during the speech of the opposition leader and it will set a wrong precedent," Riaz said, adding when the leader of the house (Shahbaz Sharif) would turn up in the house he too won't be allowed to sit in there in a tit-for-tat reply. "Change my name if I fail to do so," Riaz said mocking Shahbaz who often uses the expression in his public speeches.

Riaz said some of the PML-N politicians who had come to the Governor's House unwittingly had to return after receiving Shahbaz Sharif's negative message. He said the establishment got the opportunity to threaten democracy only because of the Sharifs' attitude as they had learnt nothing from the past.
Posted by:Fred

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