'How can they delete their past?': Khawaja Asif tells opposition to correct its ways

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday told the opposition to examine its own past before criticising the government and to sign a Charter of Democracy with the government.

His remarks come a day after the opposition’s bitter criticism of the government during a tumultuous day in the National Assembly. The opposition leader, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, launched into a harsh diatribe, criticising the government, the judiciary and the establishment.

Speaking on the floor of the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday, Asif said, “Whenever I issue instructions or make any demand, I refer to this maxim: If you seek equity, you should come up with clean hands.

“When these people demand equity, they also check whether their hands are clean,” the defence minister said, pointing towards the opposition benches.

“What did not happen in this House during their time in power?” he asked.

“You (the speaker) are a witness, I am a witness … even the walls of this House know what happened. What did they not do to us when they were in government?” the PML-N leader asked.

Addressing the House, Asif told the opposition to correct its past and sign a Charter of Democracy with the government.

“We have also made mistakes … sign the Charter of Democracy … But us and them should not forget what we have done in the past.”

Referring to the political turmoil of the 1990s, the defence minister said that there was a lot of blame between the PPP and the PML-N — now coalition partners in the federal government.

“There was a lot of blame between us, but later, both parties … realised that we should take a break from these issues and sort things out among ourselves,” he said.

He said that both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif decided that a proper code of conduct should be developed that maintains respect and dignity between the opposition and the ruling parties.

Criticising the former PTI government, Asif said, “Sitting in your chair (the speaker), 55 pieces of legislation were passed in just half an hour, after which they dissolved the assembly.

“It is a cardinal sin that, sitting in your chair, the former speaker takes such a step in favour of one party and dissolves the assembly,” Asif said, again urging the opposition to look at their past.

“Our past may not have been something to be proud of, but we (PPP and PML-N) tried to learn from it. We signed a document, learned from our past, and implemented reforms based on it, as a result of which even constitutional amendments came forward,” Asif said.

The defence minister said that in his opinion, there was still a need for constitutional amendments, because they “have not been implemented or worked as effectively as they should have”.

He said that yesterday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif walked over to the opposition and talked to them.

“This was not even conceivable when Imran Khan was the premier,” he said. The defence minister said that when Imran was the prime minister, the PTI members didn’t even talk to the opposition lest he be “offended”.

He mentioned that, in the past, there was civility among the political parties and in political culture. However, the damage that the PTI founder had “inflicted on our parliamentary system and political culture over the past years” was “unmatched”, Asif said.

“No one else has caused such harm to our politics and democratic institutions,” the minister said.

Calling Achakzai his “brother”, Asif quipped that he seemed “out of place” sitting with the opposition.

“No political party can function on the whims of one man. There is no democracy in their party … how can they delete their past?” he asked. ...