Salik Stands by Punjab Corruption Charge
Federal Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain said on Wednesday that he stands by his allegations of corruption in Punjab. He said he will respond to the legal notice served on him. He also called Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's remarks "below the belt" as the political row continues to grow.
Salik Blames Chief Minister for Controversy
Salik said the chief minister and her team are responsible for the growing controversy. He argued that their aggressive reaction turned his general observations about corruption into a full political confrontation.
In two separate interviews with private television channels, Salik rejected the idea that his remarks were part of a conspiracy against the Punjab government. He also said the PML-Q is not preparing to join an anti-government alliance.
Elections and Position on Corruption
He said the next general elections are still about two and a half years away. He questioned which elections Maryam Nawaz was referring to.
Salik maintained that he will not withdraw his remarks or back down from his position on corruption. He added that he will respond to the legal notice within a day or two.
"Reality is reality. I stand by it and will continue to," he said during a political talk show on a private TV channel.
He was responding to a question about his brother Shafay Hussain being a minister in the same Punjab government he had criticised.
Salik said dragging the entire Chaudhry family, especially his father Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, into the controversy was a below-the-belt move.
Punjab Government Attacks Chaudhry Family
Meanwhile, the Maryam Nawaz-led Punjab government launched a fresh attack on the Chaudhry family. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari compared Moonis Elahi and the federal minister. She described both as incompetent young men who damaged their family's traditionally dignified style of politics.
The remarks drew a sharp response from the PML-Q, which hit back at the PML-N and described its leaders as petty.
Azma Bukhari's Statement
In a statement, Bukhari said Salik's recent remarks suggested he had lost his senses. She said Moonis Elahi had put the Chaudhry family through one test, while Salik had put it through another. Both, she added, were incompetent young men who caused considerable damage to the family's traditionally dignified and restrained style of politics.
Bukhari alleged that the family had developed a pattern of betraying the Sharif family that helped establish its political standing. She said Salik had begun speaking more like someone involved in street-level bickering than a member of the traditionally dignified Chaudhry family.
"Those who demean women cannot, at the very least, claim to be dignified," she said.
She added that the Chaudhry family had been unable to respond to Maryam Nawaz's legal notice for a week.
Bukhari said if Salik was unable to respond to the notice, he should resign from his ministerial position and go home. She also questioned the PML-Q's contradictory politics, asking how its leaders could continue raising corruption allegations while seeking government funds at the same time.
Claims About Gujrat
Claiming that Maryam Nawaz had accomplished in Gujrat what even three generations of Chaudhry leadership could not, Bukhari said the chief minister had given the district rights it had been denied for 50 years under Zahoor Elahi, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.
