No one can steal the public's right to elect their representatives: Maryam Nawaz

LAHORE: Hitting out at the incumbent government for making life difficult for the poor, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz said that no one can and should steal the right of the public to elect their representatives.

The PML-N leader said these words as she welcomed Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his delegation to Jati Umrah where talks were held between the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief and the PML-N leadership.

"Congratulations to Maulana Fazlur Rehman on becoming the head of the PDM," she said. "We are all extremely happy at this decision and so are the people."

Read more: PDM's plan includes 'going to Islamabad', says JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman

Maryam said that the masses had earlier seen the zeal and enthusiasm inspired by the JUI-F chief during the party's Azadi March dharna. She thanked Fazl for his strong condemnation of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif's arrest, showering praise on her uncle, saying that he was a "prisoner of conscience and loyalty".

"Shehbaz Sharif is being punished for being Nawaz's brother," she said, adding that his arrest was a "black chapter" in the history of the country. "Shehbaz is being punished for standing with the Constitution, people and ideology."

Read more: Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif arrested by NAB after LHC turns down bail plea

The PML-N vice president said that it was the responsibility of politicians to defend the Constitution, adding that it was mandatory for them to ensure the Constitution was "transferred" to the coming generations.

'Public will decide who their Quaid, representative and prime minister is'

Maryam said that it was the prerogative of the masses to decide who was their Quaid, representative and prime minister.

"Quaid Nawaz Sharif has emerged as a defender of the Constitution," she said. "No one can steal the public's right to elect their own representatives."

Maryam said that God had granted the right to elect representatives to the people and they exercised that right by voting for the candidate of their choosing. "We have decided that only the people will make the decisions of this country," she said.

The PML-N leader said that Pakistanis were facing the "darkest hour" in history as gas, electricity, wheat and sugar, among other commodities, were becoming too expensive for the people to afford.

"Don't even think about education and health, it is difficult for people to eat two meals a day," she said.

Maryam lashed out at the government's foreign policy, stating that it had been completely obliterated. She condemned the FIR registered against Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider.

"What message are they trying to give to the people of Kashmir," she asked.

She slammed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for "gagging media", adding that PEMRA, FIA and NAB were being used to silence and intimidate political opponents.

"These underhanded tactics are designed to convey only one meaning  that no one should raise their voices [against the government]," she said.

Maryam said that now, the people of Pakistan will not remain silent over the "fall of Kashmir", rising prices of sugar and wheat and other issues.

"The people are looking towards the PDM to rid themselves of this menace," she said, referring to the government. "The biggest relief for the country and the nation will be the ouster of this selected government which is the enemy of the people," she added.

Pakistan Democratic Movement announces new schedule for anti-govt rallies