PTI’s own people exposed Panama conspiracy: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s own people had exposed the Panama conspiracy.

Addressing a press conference here, she said that the characters behind that conspiracy pushed the country towards multiple crises by imposing an incompetent and inefficient person at the helm of affairs.

Marriyum said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) Quaid Nawaz Sharif was disqualified under a conspiracy when the “Panama verdict was changed to Iqama”.

During the press conference, she played a video clip of senior PTI leader Hamid Khan who told a private TV channel it appeared that the decision to disqualify Nawaz Sharif in the Iqama case was done somewhere else.

She said similar statements had also been given by former interior minister and senior PTI leader Syed Ijaz Shah, who was not related to the PMLN in any way. She said that Nawaz Sharif was deposed as prime minister through a conspiracy but the country and the masses suffered the most.

The minister said that the solution to Pakistan’s problems lies only with Nawaz Sharif who served thrice as prime minister. “During the Nawaz Sharif era, the economy was stabilised; he gave the people the gift of China Pakistan Economic Corridor,” she said, adding that great injustice was done to the person who had done great service to the country as a prime minister.

She said it was Nawaz Sharif who stabilised the country’s economy after coming to power in 2013, and completed the IMF programme. In 2017, the country was on the path of development and the only IMF programme in the country’s history was successfully completed.

Nawaz wanted to make the youth of the country economically independent and wanted to promote IT, agriculture sectors and increase exports. She said instead of raising hollow slogans, Nawaz had promised to stabilise the country’s economy and fulfilled his promises. From 2013 to 2017, 14,000 megawatts of electricity was generated in the country and load-shedding was eliminated.

She said that the scourge of terrorism was rooted out from the country after the launch of the largest anti-terrorist operation in the country’s history.

On the other hand, she said there was a person standing on the container to stop development projects in the country.

The minister said there was a conspiracy against Nawaz because he was giving employment and business to the people, removing darkness from the country. She said it was strange that the person who plunged the country into multiple crises was raising questions on IMF deal and inflation. Taking a jibe at PTI Chairman Imran Khan, she said the shadowy figures and characters who were burning the country today, stood on the container to stop the CPEC project in 2013-14.

The minister said that for the last one year, the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been trying to revive the country’s economy destroyed during the four-year misrule of the PTI.

The present regime was also striving to overcome unemployment, load-shedding and terrorism, which hit the country during Imran Khan’s tenure, she added. During the last four years, incompetent and inefficient rulers of the past pushed the country towards total destruction. The information minister said the story of Pakistan’s destruction had started in 2013 during the PTI’s sit-in.

When the PMLN came to power in 2013, Pakistan faced inflation, terrorism, unemployment in the country and it was on the verge of default. In 2013 elections, the voters understood that only Nawaz Sharif could resolve the country’s problems and they voted him to power.

She said despite the launch of Imran’s agitation, Nawaz Sharif laid the foundation of political stability within the country and gave a chance to the parties having majority in the provinces to form governments at provincial levels. The minister said that CPEC was a gift to the region from the leadership of Pakistan and China and it was the vision of Nawaz Sharif and President Xi Jinping of China. The CPEC project played a role in development of Pakistan in every sector, from 2013 to 2018, she said. As soon as the CPEC project started, she said, elements conspiring against Pakistan’s development were mobilised.

When the news of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan came, a man stood on the container against the development of the country and the visit had to be postponed. She said the same person on the container called for a civil disobedience movement. Under the CPEC project, energy projects were to be started, employment opportunities were to be created but this person tried to create hurdles in the way of country’s progress. Referring to Imran’s criticism of the recent IMF deal, she said the present government did not sign this programme, adding that it was the PTI regime which signed, then violated, and finally suspended it for political gains last year.

Marriyum said Imran had ruined the national economy, foreign policy and caused unemployment due to bad policies. Those who disqualified Nawaz were totally exposed in front of the masses, she added. She said Nawaz, despite knowing that all allegations of corruption against him were bogus, appeared in courts and proved that he was not involved in any wrongdoings or fraud. When Nawaz was arrested, she said, neither any property nor memorials of martyrs were burnt.

She said that Nawaz appeared more than 150 times in accountability courts along with his daughter to prove his innocence. She said that revival of the IMF programme was also a question of Pakistan’s credibility and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari worked hard for this purpose.

The minister said that those who put the country on fire on May 9, and who appeared in court were greeted in the court with words like “good to see you, good luck”. She said there was great contrast between the performance of the PTI regime led by Imran and PMLN government led by Nawaz as PM and Shehbaz as Punjab chief minister. She said that inefficient, incompetent, foreign-funded people put the country on fire, ruined the economy and allowed terrorists to re-emerge.

On the contrary, Nawaz stabilised the economy, GDP growth rate touched 6.1 pc mark, ended load-shedding, launched CPEC and rooted out terrorism. She said the PMLN in the past had revived the economy, and once again the coalition government was taking steps for revival of the economy to end unemployment and inflation. The minister said that on July 5, a dictator derailed democracy in Pakistan by toppling the government of Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

She said July 5 was also martyrdom anniversary of Captain Kernal Sher Khan Shaheed. July 5 was also the day of completion of ten years of the launch of CPEC. Due to the incompetence of the previous government, many crises including energy shortage had arisen in the country, she maintained.

While replying to media questions, she said the government did not believe in political victimisation of its political opponents and Imran was facing cases for his crimes. If the government wanted to arrest Imran, it could have done so 14 months back, she pointed out.

The minister said that no one can fool the people for a long time and the international media had realised that Imran’s narrative was a pack of lies.