Saad Rafique lashes out at PTI govt, says all hard work undone by 'a quixotic person'

LAHORE: PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Wednesday lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying all the hard work of previous years has been undone by "this quixotic" person.

"There is no precedent in the history [of Pakistan] of any government disrespecting the Parliament the way Imran Khan did," Rafique said. "The truth is that there is no democracy in Pakistan anymore!

"Some have accepted it now and some will admit it after some time," he added.

The PML-N stalwart said he did not wish to go to and speak in the House in the morning earlier today, noting that he heard a minister speaking on a personal matter for more than 20 minutes.

"We do not come with a mandate to tear each other apart," he said.

That time is not far away when no one would be willing to become the prime minister over the fear of humiliation, Rafique noted. He added that years of "hard work had been completed and this quixotic — 'a Sheikh Chilli' — came and ruined everything".

The former railways minister said that even Gen Zia-ul-Haq's martial law could not put an end to PPP, and that to this day, no political party can be brought down.

"We will not bring a no-confidence motion against you," he said, saying it was okay to "make us your target" of criticism only if something for the betterment of Pakistan was being done in exchange.

"You have a few good people but they are not put to use," the PML-N leader said. "You may get rid of your security blanket but it won't part ways with you [that easily].

"Admit that Kashmir has fallen," he chided further.

Rafique then spoke about the alleged singling out of opposition leaders at the hands of the incumbent government, commenting on how a senior politician such as Khursheed Shah was jailed, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif's son, Hamza Shehbaz, arrested, and a notice sent to the former foreign minister, Khawaja Asif.

"You're passing on the animosity from generation to generation," he warned. "You're in no position to speak to the opposition on national issues.

"You have an 11-vote government and that, too, is not your own. What happened to the one with a two-thirds majority is also a part of the history," he added.

The PML-N government had offered dengue tests for Rs90 each, he said, asking if it was not possible to have the coronavirus tests priced at Rs2,000.

"I heard one of their federal ministers saying there were no options," the former minister mentioned. "Do away with this misconception because there are always options!

"The problem is that neither we nor the PPP are available at the moment," he said, adding that the current government created problems but the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) fixed them.