Imran Khan’s arrest likely soon: Ayaz Sadiq

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) senior leader and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq on Saturday targeted higher judiciary and demanded formation of a full court without the two ‘controversial judges’ to hear cases.

While inaugurating a project for replacing gas pipelines in Tajpura area here, Sadiq hoped Imran Khan would be arrested soon, and claimed that immediate elections were not possible in Pakistan due to the current financial and law and order condition of the country. “The arrest of Imran Khan is expected soon,” he said, adding the elections to the National and four provincial assemblies should be held simultaneously.

Ayaz Sadiq requested the judiciary to form a full court, excluding those judges who had been objected to by political parties, and all cases, including Imran Khan’s Toshakhana and foreign, should be heard and decided on daily basis. The time has come to hear all cases of Imran Khan on a daily basis, he added.

Ayaz Sadiq said it was not the work of Supreme Court to give a date for the polls, and only those institutions that are supposed to conduct elections should do so.

The federal minister alleged that Imran Khan taught the young generation to be rude to those who supported them. Imran Khan had also refused to sit with the government on the Peshawar tragedy just because of his ego. He claimed that Imran Khan government’s agreement with the IMF in 2019 had become a trap for the people of Pakistan. Under that agreement, taxes worth billions of rupees had to be imposed on people, but the coalition government successfully negotiated with the IMF for reducing taxes.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said the PTI government carried out no development during its tenure. He mocked the PTI by saying that its leaders were running away from the police vans after taking selfies during the ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’. He said some of the arrested PTI leaders had haemorrhoids, and some needed medicines, and now they were crying for getting out of jails.

“Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and many other PMLN leaders spent many years in jails and none of them even asked for any favour,” he said and added that since the PMLN came to power, no political opponent was arrested by NAB. However, he regretted that during Imran Khan’s government, NAB was used against political opponents as a tool.

“I am surprised at Sheikh Rashid, who ran away after seeing the police van. And after being arrested, cried with his head on the shoulder of a policeman,” Ayaz Sadiq said. To a question, he said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would return to the country soon. He said the PTI and Imran Khan attacked the establishment, election commission and judiciary but no action was taken against them.