Pakistan: ‘Resignation or not’: Hashmi claims ‘Nawaz Sharif is politically dead’

The Express Tribune

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on Sunday said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ‘politically dead’ due to his family’s ‘dynastic’ ideology.

“Whether he [Prime Minister Nawaz] resigns or not, it does not matter now,” Hashmi told reporters at a news conference held at his Multan residence. “He is politically dead.”

“Nawaz has lost the war for Pakistan’s history… not because of political immaturity, but due to the Sharif family’s dynastic ideology,” he said. The PTI leader added that Nawaz and his family had manoeuvred themselves into a position where they can no longer appear in public without security. “People don’t want to try the Sharifs in courts. They want him tried in public.”

Hashmi said he was still the president of PTI and claimed he had a major support base within the party. “This is the only reason the PTI leadership has sent me a show cause notice,” he told reporters, adding that he would reply to the notice ‘on merit’.

“I will not step back … I will not let PTI become a dynasty like PML-N [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz],” he said, adding, “If the PTI leadership is so brave, they should talk to me publicly and address my grievances.”

According to Hashmi, “people’s patience has been tested beyond limit.”

“They can no longer bear dynasties like PML-N and puppets like Imran and [Tahirul] Qadri,” he said. “They want leaders who bring progress, not pose for photo shoots during floods.”

Talking about his strained ties with Imran Khan, Hashmi said he was ‘deeply grieved’ by the PTI chief’s statements against him. He claimed Imran was being exploited by PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Jahangir Tareen for their own vested interest.

“Only Qureshi and Tareen want to see Imran become the prime minister, of Pakistan,” he said. “No one else wants Imran as a prime minister because of his emotional outbursts and U-turns.”

The PTI president also hit out at Sheikh Rashid, accusing him of using Imran for vested interests as well. He said because of Sheikh Rashid, Imran had crossed a ‘point of no return’.

Hashmi criticised Imran’s political approach, saying “he considers politics to be a game of cricket, where every ball will lead to a different decision.” He added that the PTI chief provided only ‘on-stage entertainment’ and was not a rational leader with political acumen.