ISLAMABAD: In a reaction to Monday’s major political development, which saw eight legislators from south Punjab parting ways the ruling party and forming South Punjab Province Front, PML-N Quaid and former premier Nawaz Sharif said the lawmakers didn’t belong to his party.
Speaking to media persons inside the accountability court where he appeared today along with Maryam Nawaz to stand trial in corruption cases, Sharif said the legislators who ditched the PML-N had no “Muslim League background.”
He said his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif had carried out record development work in south Punjab, adding that the PML-N’s win in Lodhran by-election was reflection of confidence on the development work.
The PML-N supreme leader said they were hopeful that the people of the province will vote for the party in the coming general elections.
He claimed these lawmakers had also not voted for him during the election of the party president after his disqualification at the hands of the apex court in Panama case. “People like them disgrace politics,” he said and added they keep switching loyalties.
“In military rule, they side with a dictator while in democracy they support democratic people,” Sharif said.
Eight lawmakers associated with the PML-N announced on Monday to dissociate with the ruling party and form ‘Junubi Punjab Sooba Mahaz’ to struggle for the creation of separate province in south Punjab.
The dissidents include six MNAs and two MPAs namely Samiullah Chaudhry, Rana Qasim Noon, Tahir Iqbal, Asghar Ali Shah, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Tahir Bashir Cheema, Sardar Nasrullah dareeshak and Makhdoom Basit Bukhari.
The MNAs also announced resignation from their National Assembly seat.
Khusro Bakhtiar said they were united on one political ideological agenda and their main purpose was carving out the province of southern Punjab. He said his demand was supported by more than 10 MPAs of Punjab and over five MNAs.
He highlighted the plight of the dwellers of the region who once were the most prosperous people of the country, when Pakistan came into being.
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