FAISALABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is maligning institutions for personal gains, and not on any principled stance.
She was addressing a PDM gathering at Dhobi Ghat Ground here Saturday.
Blasting Imran Khan, she said Nawaz Sharif had always taken a stand against state institutions for the betterment of Pakistan unlike Khan.
She said the prime minister had made mockery of the country's armed forces in the entire word “for the sake of one person.”
She said postings and transfers in the military were not being done by the PM’s Office or any other institution but by “spirits and ghosts”.
The PMLN leader said PM Imran did not approve the notification of new ISI chief's appointment to save his government and added that the PTI-led government would collapse as soon as the incumbent ISI chief was transferred.
“We would have stood by him (PM Imran) as well despite the fact that he is selected if he had followed democratic norms,” she said, adding that the nation knows that Imran Khan is the person who acted as a ‘pawn’ and allegedly weakened democracy in the country.
“You (PM Imran) are worse than any dictator. Never try to be like Nawaz Sharif. Jackals can never become lions.”
Lashing out at the PTI government for rising inflation and the latest hike in the petroleum products, Maryam Nawaz said Imran Khan used to say when flour becomes expensive, when sugar prices rise, when rates of electricity and petrol rise, know that your prime minister is a thief. She said in Nawaz's tenure as prime minister, sugar was Rs50 per kg, and now after three years, it had crossed Rs120 per kg while electricity prices had shot up from Rs10-11 per unit to Rs25 per unit. So who is the thief then? She said that Nawaz Sharif has left “everything in the hands of Allah the Almighty.”
“When a person leaves one’s matters to Allah no matter how powerful one is, or how they say they are on 'one page' (with others) historic defeat, humiliation, disgrace become the fate of the oppressive," she said.
"So tell me now. Has not Allah made Nawaz Sharif's opponents a warning to all?"
She said that Imran Khan has failed to fulfil even a single promise. She said that Nawaz Sharif called her today to offer his sympathies to the people facing hardships.
Maryam Nawaz said that inflation is bound to increase and the rulers plan to increase prices further as if they are doing a noble work. Instead of providing relief to the people, they are told to be patient.
She said the entire world was facing pandemic but in Pakistan people were dying of dengue because of the incompetence of the government. Now the people are remembering Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, she said. She said time had proved that no one in the history of Pakistan was more honest than Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif. She said that the rulers had made Rs112 billion out of LNG deal and people were made to buy expensive electricity and gas. “Wheat, sugar scandal, Peshawar metro bus scandal are just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of other scandals.” The PMLN leader also condemned the government for “using the NAB against its opponents,” saying “when it’s turn came, it changed the NAB law.” “But no matter how hard you (PM Imran) try, your ministers will be held accountable.”
She also criticised the government over its decision to keep information about gifts received from foreign heads of states and governments and other dignitaries confidential.
Referring to Pandora Papers, she said the name of Prime Minister Imran Khan and those of other PTI members had been included in the list of persons owning offshore companies.
“But here, the nation was told that Imran Khan's name is not included in Pandora Papers. Have you ever heard [anyone saying] that the leader of a pack of thieves is honest?” she remarked.
Maryam questioned why there was no hue and cry over Pandora Papers, as had been witnessed following Panama Papers.
“Where is the multitude of talk shows that television channels were made to broadcast at the time of Panama Papers?".
She described “Imran Khan's foreign policy as being limited to Modi doesn't receive my call and Biden doesn't call me.” The PML vice-president claimed that PM Imran had not attended the recent UN General Assembly session in person because “none of the world leaders was willing to meet him.”
Addressing the gathering, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that if the people of Punjab rise up, the whole country will be encouraged and the path of revolution will be paved. The PDM will go ahead and put an end to this puppet government. Now we will constantly be on the streets and will not leave the nation alone.
He said that Imran Khan had made a deal on Kashmir as soon as he came to power. He said that he wanted to tell Imran Khan, who was holding the opposition accountable, that the drama of accountability was over and now the PDM would hold you accountable.
The Maulana said that as China was becoming an alternative economic power of the world, the pressure on Pakistan was increasing. The institutions responsible for the survival of the state had rigged elections and given power to Imran Khan. He said that the platform of PDM was not meant to gain power but to liberate the country from incompetent rulers.
Our correspondent adds from Lahore: While talking with media before leaving from Jatti Umrah to Faisalabad, Maryam Nawaz said that the government didn’t know whether it will survive today or tomorrow.
To a question, she said many issues were discussed with the US delegation met her recently, and those waiting for a call from Biden looking desperate. “The American delegation was informed about the concerns and many issues were discussed.”
To another question, she said PMLN was a democratic party and there were all kinds of people in every party. She said in past those in the party who were afraid to openly adopt the narrative of Nawaz Sharif have changed their minds after seeing the situation of the government.
Maryam said that PMLN gave a voice to the people of Pakistan. Over a question about joining hands with PPP against the government, she said if PPP has roots in the masses, it will automatically join the struggle for masses. “The plan of running the government for 10 years has failed and the government does not know that it will go home today or tomorrow,” she maintained.
On dengue, she held the government responsible for unfortunate deaths. She said this happened due to the indifference and incompetence of the government. She said we have seen Shehbaz Sharif running on his toes during dengue but this government and its ministers nowhere to counter it. “The pockets of flour, electricity and diesel mafia are full in this government,” she said and asked the people to take a final decision as time has come.
She said the party has already asked the party members of the assemblies to go in public and share the pain and explain the PDM's narrative to every Pakistani.
“Listen to my today’s speech as I am going to make some big announcement in Faisalabad’s rally,” she said. About the long march, she said PMLN is not preparing for the long march but this time people themselves will take out long march against this incompetent government.