LAHORE:
Pakistan People’s Party General Secretary Syed Hasan Murtaza, taking a shot at his party’s allies and the PTI, said the biggest National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in the country’s history was being made adopted to obtain the release of a prisoner.
He stressed that negotiations should take place, but not agreements or NROs. He made the remarks during a press conference at the Model Town People’s Secretariat here on Thursday.
Hasan Murtaza claimed an NRO was being sought behind closed doors while negotiating in front of the media.
“The PPP believes in negotiation on certain issues and does not support an NRO.” He clarified that the PPP has never been part of such an order and will not do so in the future. “The decision to release a prisoner should be made by the court, and doing so through negotiations or an NRO would be illegal.”
He announced plans to visit districts of Punjab to activate non-functional posts at the district level, starting with Gujranwala division next week. A youth committee, headed by Mohsin Malhi, is being formed to activate the youth, and disciplinary committees have been set up at the provincial and district levels.
Hasan Murtaza said that the support of the PPP supports the government, but if it does not give it confidence in important decisions, it will face the consequences of both positive and negative results.
He clarified that the PPP’s objective is not to blackmail the government or weaken the coalition, but that it is concerned about favoritism in decision-making, which causes divisions between allies.
The PPP general secretary stressed that Pakistan’s economy and politics need stability for the country to progress. He said the party could not support anything detrimental to the nation.
“The government should avoid making unilateral decisions, particularly in agricultural matters, because some of these decisions pose a threat to food security.”
Murtaza criticized the government’s decision to privatize institutions and condemned the imposition of a super tax on agriculture, calling it unfair. He expressed concerns about policies that push farmers to the brink and restrict their access to markets, while sugarcane and sugar concessions are allocated to MPAs.
He also criticized actions under the guise of “firewalls” because they harm the IT industry, saying it is being destroyed. “The world is moving towards 5G and Pakistan is deprived of 2G.”
Hasan Murtaza accused the government of excluding the PPP from the distribution of national resources and subjecting the party to reprisals in Punjab. He said he was disappointed that, despite this, they were still referred to as allies.
