Would've tried to save opposition alliance from breaking if I was out of jail: Khursheed Shah

• PPP leader says the govt wanted him to be "out of politics" which is why he was kept behind bars.
• Says he is still unable to understand why he was thrown in jail and what was his actual fault.
• Says whenever a political alliance breaks, country suffers more losses than individual parties.

KARACHI: PPP senior leader Khursheed Shah on Sunday talked about his party's exit from the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and said that if he was not imprisoned, he would have "tried his best not to let the Opposition alliance break."

Speaking during Geo News' programme "Ek Din Geo Ke Saath", Shah said that whenever a political alliance breaks, the country suffers more losses than individual parties.

Shah said that he is still trying to understand why he was thrown in jail and what was his actual fault, adding that the government wanted him to be "out of politics" which is why he was kept behind bars.

"I had been searching for the assets beyond means that the government claimed I had, and if I manage to find them, I would only keep one per cent of it and give the rest to the government," he said. 

Speaking about the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Shah said that during his tenure as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, he tried to take the opposition parties into confidence regarding the laws of the bureau. 

"We had also proposed making amendments in NAB laws during the tenure of former prime minister, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif."

He added that the PML-N government of that time had agreed to make amendments in the NAB law and formed a committee for the purpose.

"However, as soon as a committee was formed, some people started raising objections to change the NAB laws," he said.

Shah went on to say that some people had convinced Nawaz Sharif not to amend NAB laws.

"I am unable to understand why the Opposition backed away from amendments in NAB laws at that time," he said.

Regarding his imprisonment, Shah said that he had been sent to jail during the tenure of Pervez Musharraf too but that did not sadden him as it happened during martial law.

"But when I was thrown into jail during the rule of a democratically-elected government, it was very painful for me."

Shah also talked about the Opposition's anti-government campaign and said that parties should think of ousting the PTI-led regime in a democratic way.

Khursheed Shah released after 25 months

It should be noted that last month, Shah was released from jail after being imprisoned for 25 months.

The former opposition leader in the National Assembly was released after an accountability court verified the Supreme Court's order for his bail.

Shah was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) Sukkur chapter on September 18, 2019.

Addressing party workers after reaching his residence from the jail, Shah had said he was behind bars for two years, and it was "a test" for him. But despite incarcerating me, "they could not prove anything", he said.

"I was thrown behind bars due to my love for the people," he said, adding that he had no reservations against anyone for sending him to jail.

"Conspiracies were hatched against me [...] attempts were made to portray me as separate from PPP," he had said further.