‘Resign if you have differences with govt’: Hanif Abbasi tells defence czar

Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi on Tuesday surprised fellow lawmakers in the National Assembly by indirectly criticising senior party colleague and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for the speech he delivered a day earlier.

Without naming Asif directly, Abbasi advised that those in government should refrain from adopting an opposition-style tone. 

“You are part of the system for the last 40 years which you are saying is not on the right path,” Abbasi said, adding that it did not suit a member on the treasury benches to speak like this, reported The News.

The railways minister advised the defence minister to resign if he had any differences with the government. “I also witnessed precedents in the past that if any minister had differences with government policies, he resigned but remained part of the treasury benches,” he said.

Abbasi advised Asif that if he could not deliver in his constituency, then he should accept the responsibility. “Do not try to discredit the hard work done by the prime minister and chief minister for the sake of going viral,” he said, adding that bureaucracy is often criticised here.

The MNA from Rawalpindi said that he could not understand when a treasury member says it was a hybrid system, starts abusing bureaucrats, and says there is no local government system. It is better to sit on the opposition than. “Have some fear of Allah Almighty, you are very much part of this government. This trend should come to an end,” he said.