KP CM was sitting with ISI officials after PTI rally: Asif

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif on Friday claimed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was sitting with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) public meeting in Islamabad.

“He [Gandapur] must be asked as to why he was sitting with ISI people. Today they are sitting in lap of institutions,” Asif said while speaking in the National Assembly on a point of order.

Asif also pointed out that derogatory remarks passed by Gandapur about a mother and daughter were largely condemned by his party members.

He advised the PTI leadership that Gandapur was a wrong person and he should not be trusted.

The minister also recalled the siege of the Parliament House during 2013 and the attack on state-run television building.

Asif asked PTI-backed parliamentarians that while protesting any injustice with them, they should also express regret over their past actions and apologise for excessive behaviour of their four-year government.

the minister said the PTI lawmakers should remember what they did with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leaders and their families when they were in the government.

“There is no precedence of what injustices they meted out with Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz and how they used the National Accountability Bureau (NAB),” he said.

Asif repeated that the PTI leaders should just recall their past and regret what they did in four years. “It was daughter of an ex-prime minister who was made to appear in courts and Nawaz Sharif was not allowed even to make a telephone call to his ailing wife,” he said.

“How they used NAB? We did not frame any case against opponents,” he said.

He said that the special committee formed through a motion of the National Assembly was not merely to address the concerns or narrative of any political party but rather for upholding the sanctity of Parliament and strengthen its narrative. “Bilawal Bhutto rightly proposed formation of the special committee to uphold sanctity of Parliament,” he added.

He said the committee was formed to defend sanctity of Parliament and address issues of the institutions. “There should be a separate committee if reservations of the PTI members are to be addressed,” he said.

The defence minister expressed concern over the proceeding of the committee as, according to him, it seemed that it was set up to address PTI’s concerns. He said proceedings of the committee on Thursday gave an impression that it was formed just to address grievances of the PTI lawmakers. “I have told my government that I will not be part of the special committee,” he said.

Referring to the incident that occurred two days ago, Asif said that everyone protested and expressed solidarity with the PTI but no one supported attack on Parliament. The minister said that he recorded his protest during the committee meeting and recused himself from being a member of the committee besides suggesting his party to appoint someone else.

Referring to such past incidents, he questioned whether anyone supported them when MNAs were taken into custody from the Parliament Lodges.

The minister also mentioned that before the dissolution of the assembly and no-confidence motion, 30 bills were passed in just 20 minutes.