ISLAMABAD:
PPP stalwart and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed
Khursheed Shah on Tuesday proposed an amendment to the Constitution,
paving way for senior bureaucrats and lawyers to head the Election
Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
“It is a mandatory
requirement that the chief election commissioner (CEC) should be a
retired judge, but I propose an amendment to the Constitution so that
not only a retired judge but also senior bureaucrats and lawyers, could
make it to the post,” said Khursheed while talking to media persons at
the Parliament House.
He
said limiting the post in question to a retired judge blocked other
options and the clause concerned should be amended to do the needful.The
PPP leader suggested a number of proposals for reforms in the electoral
process.He also proposed a constitutional amendment for reducing the
government’s constitutional term from five to four years. “Reducing the
tenure to four years will resolve all issues,” he argued.
He
further said once democracy took roots, the government’s term could be
reverted to five years. Khursheed said he had proposed the
constitutional amendments after much brainstorming and added that the
amendments would accrue positive results.
Showing posts with label Khursheed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Khursheed. Show all posts
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Imran should think about country’s future, says Khursheed
It was not the right thing to do, he said and added that Imran should think about the country’s future. A very well-known analyst of the country, Ata-ul-Haq Qasimi, said that the mental status of Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri is alike, and both are suffering from deprivation syndrome.
Defence analyst Talat Masood said that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is progressing according to its strategy. The plan was to begin with aerial activity to create chaos in the rank of the leadership of the terrorists, and then to proceed with ground assault.
Khursheed Shah said that Imran Khan was giving threats of resignation from the provincial and national assemblies is an inappropriate thing. Shah, however, said that he did not oppose the demand of the PTI for verification in four constituencies. Although the supporters of the PPP in the Punjab are angry over electoral irregularities, yet the PPP realises the challenges before the country and so it is dealing with the political matters discretely. The Pakistan Army is engaged in a war against the terrorists, and the PPP does not want to complicate national affairs any further.
Khursheed Shah advised Imran Khan to put the future of the country above everything else. Imran should utilise the forum of Parliament.Khursheed Shah said he sees Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan travelling down separate paths though the path may converge later on. The government must find a political way out. Protest demonstrations and rallies are not going to solve the issues. The country’s history bears witness to the fact whenever such things happened they disturbed the country’s system. Shah said that they must learn from past mistakes. He said that resignations from provincial and national assemblies by PTI members would create a crisis because after resignation the PTI would agitate on the streets and bring life to a halt.
The PPP leader said that the Model Town tragedy was a result of the government’s cronies’ overreaction. Senior columnist Ata-ul-Haq Qasimi said that he had never been optimistic about Imran Khan’s politics. Ever since Imran Khan entered politics, he had been making blunders one after the other. He had been consistently deviating from his own statements and going back on his promises, and that is the reason behind the friction in his party. Imran has also failed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Ata-ul-Haq Qasimi said when Imran realised that his performance had been unsatisfactory he started talking about resigning from the assemblies. There will be a strong resistance from the party over Imran’s call for resignations.
The senior columnist said that Imran’s decisions reflect his inexperience in politics. Ata-ul-Haq Qasimi said that mental state of Imran Khan and that of Tahir-ul-Qadri is alike and both are suffering from deprivation syndrome. What Imran Khan is doing can derail democracy.
Defence analyst Talat Masood, while talking to the host on the programme, said that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is progressing satisfactorily. The strategy was to panic the leadership of the terrorists through aerial bombardments and then to launch the ground attack, and the strategy has been successful.
The host of the programme, Masood Raza, said that the ICC has given Pakistan the status of Big Four.Commenting on Imran Khan, Masood Raza said that it seems that Imran’s politics is confined to four constituencies only. A year has passed since the elections but still there is an echo of rigging in elections.
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Govt has taken bigger begging bowl: Khursheed
ISLAMABAD:
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Syed Khursheed
Shah, on the government’s one-year performance, said on Friday that the
government had taken up even a bigger begging bowl.
While kickstarting a debate on the budget in the lower house on Friday, he termed the one-year performance of the Nawaz Sharif-led government “poor” and gave it zero marks. The opposition leader described the budget documents as a jugglery of words and statistics.
He was more critical of the government for obtaining foreign loans at high interest, saying, rather than breaking the begging bowl, the government had raised the size of the begging bowl. “What the PPP government did not obtain in its five-year rule, the PML-N government obtained it in the form of foreign loans in their first year,” he said.
He said the finance minister had delivered a lengthy budget speech that made not only the parliamentarians worried but the media also who were guessing what was in the budget.He said every child was born in the country with a debt of Rs84,000 in comparison to Rs74,000 during the PPP’s tenure.He said the dictatorship and martial laws played havoc with the country as the people were still facing the outcome of the policies of dictators.
“One-man rule and dictatorships proved more destructive for the country. It is the beauty of parliament that we are sitting, making criticism that is being tolerated in the House,” he said while opening the budget debate in the National Assembly.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif kept the parliamentary tradition alive while sitting there during the speech of the opposition leader.The soft-spoken Khursheed Shah, in his speech that remained incomplete due to the Friday prayer and would now be completed on Monday evening, was more critical of the government in his usual soft tone rather than following the past practice of an aggressive tone of the previous opposition leaders.
The opposition leader said during its five-year tenure, the PPP-government was facing terrorism in Swat and faced unprecedented floods in 2010 but kept the prices of flour and sugar in control.
Criticising the economic policies of Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in a soft tone, the opposition leader said Dar might have many arguments to reject the opposition’s point of view on the budget. He said that Dar could prove them wrong with arguments but if he would be asked to make a speech against the bill from his seat, Ishaq Dar would find out 1,000 faults in the budget. “I want to be his student as he could turn dirt into gold with his arguments,” he said in a lighter tone.
He taunted those who claimed to make a new Pakistan saying that some parties raised such slogans but they should know that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had given us already the gift of Pakistan and those claimed to make a new Pakistan should know it was already a reality.
The Leader of the Opposition, Syed Khursheed Shah, said that the budget should be in accordance with aspirations of the people. He suggested that inputs from the opposition should have been taken in preparation of the budget.
He pointed out that the government had fixed Rs2,475 billion as revenue collection target in the outgoing fiscal year but reduced it twice on the insistence of the IMF to Rs2,275 billion.He said the government had collected Rs1,950 billion till 30th May, 2014 and still needed Rs325 billion to achieve this target.
Shah stressed that the budget should focus on the deprived areas and improve the backward provinces to meet the requirements of the new concept of Federation after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The leader of the opposition advocated for proper shares for the provinces. He appreciated the unprecedented legislation carried out in the House on Friday and criticised the government for poor performance on legislation in the first year. However, he hoped that performance of the government in this regard would be better next year.
He expressed serious reservations over the government’s issuance of the Euro Bond at a higher interest at 8 percent, saying, on the one hand, the government was claiming that the economy of the country was stabilising and, on the other hand, it was issuing the Euro Bonds with such a high interest that created confusion about the government’s policy. “The government claims to break the begging bowl but it has pushed the country into a stronger debt trap,” he observed.
While kickstarting a debate on the budget in the lower house on Friday, he termed the one-year performance of the Nawaz Sharif-led government “poor” and gave it zero marks. The opposition leader described the budget documents as a jugglery of words and statistics.
He was more critical of the government for obtaining foreign loans at high interest, saying, rather than breaking the begging bowl, the government had raised the size of the begging bowl. “What the PPP government did not obtain in its five-year rule, the PML-N government obtained it in the form of foreign loans in their first year,” he said.
He said the finance minister had delivered a lengthy budget speech that made not only the parliamentarians worried but the media also who were guessing what was in the budget.He said every child was born in the country with a debt of Rs84,000 in comparison to Rs74,000 during the PPP’s tenure.He said the dictatorship and martial laws played havoc with the country as the people were still facing the outcome of the policies of dictators.
“One-man rule and dictatorships proved more destructive for the country. It is the beauty of parliament that we are sitting, making criticism that is being tolerated in the House,” he said while opening the budget debate in the National Assembly.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif kept the parliamentary tradition alive while sitting there during the speech of the opposition leader.The soft-spoken Khursheed Shah, in his speech that remained incomplete due to the Friday prayer and would now be completed on Monday evening, was more critical of the government in his usual soft tone rather than following the past practice of an aggressive tone of the previous opposition leaders.
The opposition leader said during its five-year tenure, the PPP-government was facing terrorism in Swat and faced unprecedented floods in 2010 but kept the prices of flour and sugar in control.
Criticising the economic policies of Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in a soft tone, the opposition leader said Dar might have many arguments to reject the opposition’s point of view on the budget. He said that Dar could prove them wrong with arguments but if he would be asked to make a speech against the bill from his seat, Ishaq Dar would find out 1,000 faults in the budget. “I want to be his student as he could turn dirt into gold with his arguments,” he said in a lighter tone.
He taunted those who claimed to make a new Pakistan saying that some parties raised such slogans but they should know that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had given us already the gift of Pakistan and those claimed to make a new Pakistan should know it was already a reality.
The Leader of the Opposition, Syed Khursheed Shah, said that the budget should be in accordance with aspirations of the people. He suggested that inputs from the opposition should have been taken in preparation of the budget.
He pointed out that the government had fixed Rs2,475 billion as revenue collection target in the outgoing fiscal year but reduced it twice on the insistence of the IMF to Rs2,275 billion.He said the government had collected Rs1,950 billion till 30th May, 2014 and still needed Rs325 billion to achieve this target.
Shah stressed that the budget should focus on the deprived areas and improve the backward provinces to meet the requirements of the new concept of Federation after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The leader of the opposition advocated for proper shares for the provinces. He appreciated the unprecedented legislation carried out in the House on Friday and criticised the government for poor performance on legislation in the first year. However, he hoped that performance of the government in this regard would be better next year.
He expressed serious reservations over the government’s issuance of the Euro Bond at a higher interest at 8 percent, saying, on the one hand, the government was claiming that the economy of the country was stabilising and, on the other hand, it was issuing the Euro Bonds with such a high interest that created confusion about the government’s policy. “The government claims to break the begging bowl but it has pushed the country into a stronger debt trap,” he observed.
Thursday, 1 May 2014
Illegal steps to be countered jointly: Kh Asif, Khursheed
ISLAMABAD:
The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed
Shah, and Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Wednesday held a
meeting to defuse the tension that had arisen after the statements of
Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali. Both expressed the
resolve that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s
Party would counter all unconstitutional steps.
The situation became tense as Abid Sher Ali called the provincial governments ‘electricity thieves’. The meeting was held after the PPP legislators belonging to Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his statement on electricity defaulters.
During the meeting, Syed Khursheed Shah suggested closure of electricity feeders over power theft, Geo News reported.He suggested that rather than removal of transformers, feeders of those Sindh areas where power theft was recorded should be closed down. He assured to take the dues issue with the government of Sindh.
After the meeting, Khawaja Asif said they emphasised on cooperation to resolve the issues. He said that the issue of electricity arrears would be resolved through contacts with the Sindh government. He also assured to solve the issue of electricity loadshedding in the province.
Earlier, the PPPP legislators from Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his remarks in which he allegedly termed the people of Sindh electricity thieves.
The privilege motion was signed by all the PPPP legislators from Sindh stating that the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher used inappropriate, derogatory and highly objectionable language terming “all people of Sindh as electricity thieves including parliamentarians, during his press conference at Hesco headoffice, Hyderabad on Wednesday (April 24).”
The motion stated that in his remarks, he further said that “politicians urge public towards electricity theft to strengthen their vote bank”. “His disparaging remarks breach the privilege of the honourable parliamentarians and the people of Sindh, therefore, we urge that this privilege motion be admitted and sent to the Privileges Committee,” the motion stated.
The situation became tense as Abid Sher Ali called the provincial governments ‘electricity thieves’. The meeting was held after the PPP legislators belonging to Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his statement on electricity defaulters.
During the meeting, Syed Khursheed Shah suggested closure of electricity feeders over power theft, Geo News reported.He suggested that rather than removal of transformers, feeders of those Sindh areas where power theft was recorded should be closed down. He assured to take the dues issue with the government of Sindh.
After the meeting, Khawaja Asif said they emphasised on cooperation to resolve the issues. He said that the issue of electricity arrears would be resolved through contacts with the Sindh government. He also assured to solve the issue of electricity loadshedding in the province.
Earlier, the PPPP legislators from Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his remarks in which he allegedly termed the people of Sindh electricity thieves.
The privilege motion was signed by all the PPPP legislators from Sindh stating that the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher used inappropriate, derogatory and highly objectionable language terming “all people of Sindh as electricity thieves including parliamentarians, during his press conference at Hesco headoffice, Hyderabad on Wednesday (April 24).”
The motion stated that in his remarks, he further said that “politicians urge public towards electricity theft to strengthen their vote bank”. “His disparaging remarks breach the privilege of the honourable parliamentarians and the people of Sindh, therefore, we urge that this privilege motion be admitted and sent to the Privileges Committee,” the motion stated.
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Imran should avoid hasty anti-govt drive: Khursheed
He stressed that government, politicians and institutions should remain on the same page as this was the demand of the time. Talking to newsmen at the airport here on Saturday, he said that the country was facing the menace of terrorism and they had to provide the people with peace and relief. “Conditions are changing internationally, new governments are to emerge in India and Afghanistan and under the circumstances we have to remain united,” he said.
He opposed the agitation planned for May 11, by Imran Khan and Maulana Tahirul Qadri saying some serious issues were currently confronting the nation that demanded unity not confrontation.
Referring to the current dialogue process with the Taliban, he said when the government itself was not aware about it how could the opposition comment on it.
Sunday, 30 March 2014
Khursheed warns of disaster if something happens to Bilawal
ISLAMABAD:
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah
has said that there would be a disaster if something happened to Bilawal
Bhutto.
He said that an anchor of a private television channel was attacked in Lahore the day after Bilawal Bhutto received an intimidating letter.Talking to the media here, he asked how Bilawal could undertake a visit to the Punjab under these circumstances.
The Punjab government should take suitable steps in this regard, he said. He said that Zardari never applied for the return of any locket and Benazir Bhutto had also denied any connection with any such locket. The jeweller had also confirmed what Benazir had said.
He said former president Pervez Musharraf had become a bone stuck in the throat of the government. “If he goes out ofthe country, there will be no harm because people have gone out of the country earlier also,” he said.Shah advised Hamza Shahbaz to avoid issuing statements instigating differences amongst the political parties because brotherhood between them should continue.
He refuted the news of Bilawal becoming the chief minister of Sindh. He explained that the PPP was a party at the federation level and not a provincial party. Bilawal would come at the federal level.
Referring to the talks process between the Taliban and the government, he said so far they had not been taken into confidence. “We have come to know about the talks process through newspapers,” he said. He said similar talks should also he held with the Baloch leaders.
He said that an anchor of a private television channel was attacked in Lahore the day after Bilawal Bhutto received an intimidating letter.Talking to the media here, he asked how Bilawal could undertake a visit to the Punjab under these circumstances.
The Punjab government should take suitable steps in this regard, he said. He said that Zardari never applied for the return of any locket and Benazir Bhutto had also denied any connection with any such locket. The jeweller had also confirmed what Benazir had said.
He said former president Pervez Musharraf had become a bone stuck in the throat of the government. “If he goes out ofthe country, there will be no harm because people have gone out of the country earlier also,” he said.Shah advised Hamza Shahbaz to avoid issuing statements instigating differences amongst the political parties because brotherhood between them should continue.
He refuted the news of Bilawal becoming the chief minister of Sindh. He explained that the PPP was a party at the federation level and not a provincial party. Bilawal would come at the federal level.
Referring to the talks process between the Taliban and the government, he said so far they had not been taken into confidence. “We have come to know about the talks process through newspapers,” he said. He said similar talks should also he held with the Baloch leaders.
Khursheed seeks release of sons of Gilani, Taseer
He stated this while talking to the media here at the Sukkur airport on Saturday.
Shah said that he had written a letter to Shahbaz Sharif regarding the threat letter sent to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
He demanded of the Punjab government to investigate the matter.
He said that the PPP never opposed talks with the Taliban but had asked the PM not to confuse the nation with his unclear policy.
He clarified that there is no reality in the media reports pertaining to the removal of CM Qaim Ali Shah.
Friday, 28 March 2014
Khursheed to go on hunger strike till death
ISLAMABAD:
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on
Thursday threatened to go on hunger strike till death if the PML-N
government went ahead with its plan to terminate the services of about
60,000 daily wagers and contractual employees.
“I will go on hunger strike in front of the Parliament House along with the daily wagers and contractual employees working in different departments,” Khursheed Shah said while speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly.
He said he had received reports that the government had finalised a plan to terminate the services of these employees while a number of employees serving in the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (Pemra) and the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) had also met him in this regard.
Warning the government to refrain from taking such decisions, the opposition leader reminded the PML-N leader that in the past such acts had resulted in premature end of their governments.
He said he had also talked to the prime minister whom he called an innocent and decent person and discussed the issue with him. “The prime minister told me that he is not aware of any such plan,” the PPP leader said.
But, he said, now he had received reports that the employees working on temporary basis were being shown the door.Syed Khursheed Shah also regretted the statement of the finance minister on the floor of the House that the government was not considering any raise in salaries and pensions for the next fiscal year. “What was the need to make such a statement that will only add to the frustration of the salaried people?” he asked.
The opposition leader claimed that the PPP government had raised the salaries of government employees by 125 percent in five years.
APP adds: Khursheed said that the youth of the country must not be made jobless as there had been no investment in the country for the last 15 years due to terrorism. The sacking of the youth might trigger a new wave of lawlessness as the unemployed youth might indulge in anti-social activities. The large-scale sackings might create frustration among the people, which would certainly benefit the anti-democratic forces.
Criticising the metro bus project of Rawalpindi and Lahore, he said over Rs80 billion was being squandered on such projects. Whereas the per annum salary of 100,000 employees was not more than Rs4 billion. He said the PPP government had regularised the services of 125,000 contractual employees without any discrimination. He said he personally knew that the financial position of the sacked employees of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) was pitiable. After the induction of new employees, during the PPP era, the profit of EOBI had jumped from Rs5.3 billion to Rs11 billion due to the efforts and hard work of these employees, he claimed.
“I will go on hunger strike in front of the Parliament House along with the daily wagers and contractual employees working in different departments,” Khursheed Shah said while speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly.
He said he had received reports that the government had finalised a plan to terminate the services of these employees while a number of employees serving in the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (Pemra) and the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) had also met him in this regard.
Warning the government to refrain from taking such decisions, the opposition leader reminded the PML-N leader that in the past such acts had resulted in premature end of their governments.
He said he had also talked to the prime minister whom he called an innocent and decent person and discussed the issue with him. “The prime minister told me that he is not aware of any such plan,” the PPP leader said.
But, he said, now he had received reports that the employees working on temporary basis were being shown the door.Syed Khursheed Shah also regretted the statement of the finance minister on the floor of the House that the government was not considering any raise in salaries and pensions for the next fiscal year. “What was the need to make such a statement that will only add to the frustration of the salaried people?” he asked.
The opposition leader claimed that the PPP government had raised the salaries of government employees by 125 percent in five years.
APP adds: Khursheed said that the youth of the country must not be made jobless as there had been no investment in the country for the last 15 years due to terrorism. The sacking of the youth might trigger a new wave of lawlessness as the unemployed youth might indulge in anti-social activities. The large-scale sackings might create frustration among the people, which would certainly benefit the anti-democratic forces.
Criticising the metro bus project of Rawalpindi and Lahore, he said over Rs80 billion was being squandered on such projects. Whereas the per annum salary of 100,000 employees was not more than Rs4 billion. He said the PPP government had regularised the services of 125,000 contractual employees without any discrimination. He said he personally knew that the financial position of the sacked employees of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) was pitiable. After the induction of new employees, during the PPP era, the profit of EOBI had jumped from Rs5.3 billion to Rs11 billion due to the efforts and hard work of these employees, he claimed.
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