ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that Miftah Ismail would have been his finance minister if he were the prime minister.
In an exclusive interview with Wenews, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Miftah Ismail had fulfilled the responsibility delegated to him by the prime minister. When asked if he were the prime minister today, Ishaq Dar or Miftah Ismail would be his finance minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Miftah Ismail would have been with him.
When asked whether Ishaq Dar was running the country’s economy aptly, the former prime minister said that history would decide the success of Ishaq Dar. “Miftah Ismail sahib was the one who worked whatever responsibility assigned to him by the prime minister. A minister works at the discretion of the prime Minister. He (the prime minister) decided that Ishaq Dar should be there, and he brought him. “Now it is the responsibility of the prime minister and the finance minister to prove their mettle in fixing the country’s economy,” he said.
Abbasi said that a minister has his own actions and is judged on the results (of those actions).
When asked if he had been the prime minister, would he have controlled inflation and the dollar, he said “it was one of the miracles.” “Where we stand today, it is not a matter of one day or a matter of one month or one year or 10 years, it was a continuation of wrong decisions as a country which has reached its peak today . . . I must say that the previous government played a big role in it,” said the PML-N leader.
He said that right now, the government is doing firefighting and trying to give stability. Undoubtedly, many difficult decisions have a heavy bearing on the masses. “At least it will take (you) five to seven years to get things right.”
‘This election is more difficult for PML-N’
When asked if the PML-N can win if elections are held now, he said, “Every election is difficult, this election is more difficult because we have assumed the government in challenging circumstances.” He said he did not favor taking the government, “but when my party decided, then the decision becomes mine as well.”
‘Imran Khan’s quality that makes him leader’
Recently, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that since the coming into being of the country, Pakistan produced only four political leaders, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Imran Khan.
“I am only talking about a political leader, it is our misfortune that the country, which has produced thousands of generals, thousands of bureaucrats and thousands of judges, could only produce four political leaders. I am not differentiating between good and bad, big and small, this country could produce four political leaders, and it’s our failure,” he said.
He said that a political leader is one who can fetch votes for his candidate in any constituency. “This quality was only in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then in Mian Nawaz Sharif, then in Benazir Bhutto, and that is in Imran Khan,” Abbadi said.
When asked who is better if Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan were to be compared, he said he is with Nawaz Sharif.
“If I had seen anything wrong with him (Nawaz Sharif), I would not have been with him. I don’t know Imran Khan; those with him will definitely like him, but when you see in practicality, facts will dawn on you.”
‘Maryam Nawaz younger sister, liaison with her will continue’
Answering a question about his working relationship with Maryam Nawaz, he said, “Maryam Nawaz is my younger sister. I have been her father’s companion for 35 years, and even during his worst time, I have remained his comrade and this relationship will last.
However, when asked about the difference between the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, he said, “Maryam Nawaz Sahiba has just entered the (political arena) and she has to exhibit her leadership (mettle) now,” he said.
“Allah almighty gave him (Nawaz Sharif) a chance. He became the chief minister, he became the prime minister but he was not a political leader untli, in my view, he showed resistance when Ghulam Ishaq Sahib removed him in 1993. “He (Nawaz Sharif) then became a political leader and after that, he has a long journey in politics and as the leader.”
‘There is no ban on dynastic politics’
Answering a question on dynastic politics, Shahid Khaqan said that there was no bar on dynastic politics. “You can’t stop it. The people decide on politicians. “My son will definitely get an advantage if he joins politics. I myself took advantage of dynastic politics. But after that, you also have to do dynastic politics on your performance.”
‘Judges should not interfere in government affairs’
Answering a question whether parliament has a solution to prevent judicial interference in governance matters, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “These judges should think for themselves. Whenever one institution enters the domain of another institution, a breakdown occurs.”
“You disqualified one of Pakistan’s most experienced leaders who had been in politics for 35 years of his life. Who gave you this authority? We should all think about these things – what are the effects of the army interference, who has given it the authority (to interfere) in elections?”
He questioned whether the 2018 election was not stolen. “Where you have reached today is the result of this election. So, we all have to look at these things and think about what we do and what its effects are. Pakistan is the only country where judges appoint themselves.”
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Pakistan is the only country in the world where judges appoint judges. There is no country in the world (where this is the practice). “There was the practice that a parliamentary committee would scrutinise and select judges from a panel. But the Supreme Court has decided that it (judges) will pick judges even if the parliamentary committee rejects them.
He said that “today a lawyer after seeing a bench tells what decision will come despite the fact the matter is yet to start. “It is regrettable that when the justice system reaches such an extent, and it deteriorates to such an extent, then we cannot save the country, then everything is doomed to perish.”
‘Judges should have tax records’
When asked whether legislation should be enacted to alter the procedure to appoint judges, he said the legislation could not fix it. “You can do it by attitude … a person who happens to the grab the top slot… it is in front of you, what Justice Javed Iqbal Sahib, who has been a judge of the Supreme Court, has done in the NAB (National Accountability Bureau). So, from there, you can see that those who went there were incapable.”
Shahid Khaqan said that when a bill was brought to the assembly regarding (the appointment of) judges, he inserted a clause as a private member. “I said those who come to become judges bring their 10-year income tax records with them. All parties unanimously rejected it and asked me, “why you are doing this.” I said that a person who comes to become a judge, and if he does not even pay tax, there are two reasons for it — either he is evading tax and not able to become a judge, or if he does not have practice (practical experience), then he is still not able to become a judge.”
‘Learned a lot in prison’
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that he had spent three years in jail during the tenures of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and Imran Khan. When asked if the jail taught him any lesson, he said, “jail is a big schooling (education); you can’t get that education anywhere else. When you have nothing else (in jail), you have your own strength. That’s how you cope with situations. There (in jail) you ponder what life has done, what to do, and what are the goals.”
When asked that he always laughs instead of crying while talking about jail, the former prime minister said, “It should always be remembered that the first day in jail is the most difficult. If you show weakness on the first day, jail takes over you.”
When asked what thought struck his mind on the first day in jail, Abbasi said, “When I was arrested for the first time, I was in military custody during Pervez Musharraf’s martial law. “But when I landed in jail, the environment was relatively resounding, and “that’s why (I) felt not so much (strain), but the old prisoners in the jail told us that the first day would be difficult and (if you) put up with it, “everything will be normal ahead).”
