LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday maintained that the current atmosphere of confrontation between institutions was not in the interest of the country.
“Every institution should work within its constitutional limits for a sustainable political environment which is beneficial for the country’s progress and prosperity,” Shehbaz said in a meeting with Maryam Nawaz, daughter of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in Lahore.
Maryam’s husband Captain (r) Safdar and cousin Hamza Shehbaz were also present.
Emphasising better relations among state institutions, the chief minister insisted that the government must serve the public as much as possible.
The chief minister’s comments came in the backdrop of a simmering controversy stirred by a recent spat between Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor.
The former premier’s daughter and Shehbaz Sharif reportedly exchanged views on the key political and party matters. Shehbaz also inquired about Kulsoom Nawaz’s health who is under treatment in London and prayed for her early recovery.
Maryam Nawaz later tweeted about the meeting, saying that she had a ‘lavish afternoon tea’ at her uncle’s house, adding that she was ‘surprised’ that the media was portraying the meeting in a negative manner. She warned that ‘those who want to drive a wedge’ between the family will remain ‘unsuccessful’.
Later in the day while addressing a ceremony in Aiwan-e-Iqbal, Hamza Shehbaz warned that conflict among institutions will hurt Pakistan badly. “Politics is not the name of leveling accusations on each other but to serve the nation,” he asserted.
Published in Daily Times, October 18th 2017.
