Premiership offer: If I betray my party, how could I be loyal to you, Shahbaz told Musharraf

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday revealed that Pervez Musharraf had offered him the prime minister’s office before the October 12, 1999 coup, but he told him how he [Shahbaz] could be loyal to him [Musharraf] when he wasn’t devoted to the party leadership. Shahbaz said his reply was, “Though you have shown trust but things do not work like this in a democratic system. If you have any grievance, I can arrange your meeting with Nawaz Sharif. If there is another issue then I am ready to play my role because I am of the view that there should be complete harmony between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.” “Upon it, Musharraf asked me to arrange his meeting. He is going to Sri Lanka and he will also prepare notes for the meeting. I made it clear to him that if I am not loyal to my leadership then how I could be loyal to you. However, martial law was imposed afterwards,” said the chief minister.

Shahbaz was replying to various questions asked by media persons after he witnessed the signing ceremony of an agreement between Punjab Land Record Authority (PLRA) and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

According to this agreement, the services of obtaining the ownership deeds of properties at NADRA’s 3700 E-Sahulat Centres will be provided to the people.

Answering a question, the chief minister rejected the impression that the provincial government institutions are not providing necessary record to NAB. “We are not afraid of NAB. I have issued clear-cut instructions to hand over record to NAB according to the law, because we have served the masses in a transparent manner,” he added.

Citing the effective policies and steps taken Punjab to check corruption, he said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government established accountability bureau with much fanfare but it was non-functional. “Different stories of corruption are being revealed there but we are proud of our system of self-accountability,” he said.

When asked about the responsibility of the institutions, he said they had to fulfil their obligations while remaining within the constitutional limits. “Parliament is the supreme institution having representation of four provinces and its powers are fully explained in the Constitution. Executive has to fulfil its duties, while the courts are required to play their role.”

He said the Parliament had the authority to legislate. “If there are any black sheep, then holding of their accountability is the responsibility of their institutions. If there is any corruption at the lower echelon of judiciary then it [judiciary] should take notice of it.