Maryam demands PTI be outlawed

LAHORE/ ISLAMABAD: Maryam Nawaz, the chief organiser of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN), demanded on Friday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf should be outlawed as a political party, and it should be dealt with as a terrorist organisation due to its anti-state acts during the past week.

Addressing a press conference, she said everyone saw who the Sicilian mafia and godfather were in Zaman Park. She said the head of the political party first brought the security forces from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the long march, and then he brought police of Gilgit-Baltistan and pitted it against the Punjab police. She said people of banned organisations had also been given accommodation at Zaman Park residence of Imran Khan.

She said political parties were recognised by struggle and sacrifices, and political leaders endure exile, prisons and flogging. However, a person, who calls himself a political leader, had hijacked Lahore for five days. Maryam alleged that Imran Khan had declared rebellion against the institutions, which he attacked to avoid appearing before the law. He had a facilitator for five years and all his issues were hidden.

She said arresting Imran Khan was a matter of just five minutes, but the government wanted to avoid any clash. “What is the difference between the Katcha area of Rahim Yar Khan and Zaman Park,” she raised a question.

Maryam said who gave the right to Zalmay Khalilzad to interfere in the internal affairs of Pakistan.

She said if the Tyrian case and foreign funding case were false. “Imran Khan should appear in courts and deny that Tyrian was not his daughter. He should tell the court that he had not taken any foreign funding.”

Separately, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUIF) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Friday statements from the officials of some foreign countries in favour of PTI Chairman Imran Khan showed that he was a “foreign agent”.

Addressing a press conference, he claimed that former US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad had secretly met Imran Khan in the recent months, whose tweets spoke volumes about foreign support for the PTI chief. Likewise was the case of George Galloway of the UK, who also came in support of Imran Khan. He said the situation in Lahore was still grim as the entire city had been turned into a battlefield, causing inconvenience to masses.

“The violent PTI workers attacked the police personnel with petrol bombs, pelting stones and firing bullets.” He demanded that elections of all assemblies should be held simultaneously, on the same day. Also, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb warned PTI Chairman Imran Khan that he would not be allowed to spread anarchy, civil war and unrest in the country.

In a statement, she said Imran Khan was hiding from police in order to escape his arrest and had made women, children and youth his shield. She said Imran Khan had become dead politically and now he was inciting his armed gangs and hooligans against the state institutions. She said the PTI had turned into an armed gang, because a political party always upholds the rule of law and the constitution.

Also, Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique Friday likened Imran Khan’s party to RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation in India], saying that the PTI was the RSS of Pakistan.

He said whenever Imran Khan was summoned by a judge, he would send groups to attack the courts. He said the policemen had gone to Zaman Park residence of Imran Khan to comply with the court orders, but they were tortured there.

Saad said in the Toshakhana case, the Election Commission had disqualified Imran Khan for one term.

Separately, PMLN leader Ahsan Iqbal lashed out at Imran Khan on Friday, saying that the latter was practising violent politics in Pakistan. Democratic leaders practise dialogue rather than violence, he added.

Speaking to the media he lambasted PTI chief claiming that he wanted to sacrifice the youth for his ego. PTI supporters attacked the unarmed policemen. The PTI supremo wanted bloodshed, alleged Ahsan Iqbal.

He said Imran Khan was not being abused, but he was abusing the Constitution, law and the courts of Pakistan. Khan was spreading chaos across the country, he added.