PM has to answer JIT but PTI is perturbed: Marriyum

Hamza says let JIT work; Kirmani says Imran lost the Panama match, must show sportsmanship; Musadik says decision to constitute JIT validated PML-N’s stance; Rajwana says govt to complete tenure, no one can mislead masses

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Saturday that politics of maligning and pressurising the national institutions must be abandoned.

Talking to the media after a ceremony at a local school in Rawalpindi, she, condemning the statement of PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan against the defence institutions, said the armed forces, constitutional institutions and law enforcement agencies were the pride of the nation, adding that irresponsible utterances should be avoided in future.

The minister remarked that replies to the questions of JIT have to be given by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but one failed to understand why Imran Khan and his party were so perturbed over it.

She said people in the next general elections would totally reject the elements that were trying to disrupt the prime minister’s development agenda.

Marriyum said the opposition parties were weary of the popularity of Nawaz Sharif because they knew that if the mega development projects launched by the present government were completed, then they would be wiped out of the political arena as their hands were empty as far as development initiatives and service to the nation were concerned.

She said the prime minister had created history by presenting three generations of his family for accountability and answering questions about the businesses established by the family, including his deceased father and children.

To a question, she said the Sharif family had provided the record of the businesses of Mian Sharif dating back to 45 to 50 years and if there was any gap in information, the JIT would be provided with those details.

Rejecting the assumption that the court had rejected the letter of the Qatari prince, she said it was a verified document and the JIT would be satisfied about its authenticity.

Marriyum said Imran used the Panama Leaks as political crutches and started targeting the Sharif family.

She said the prime minister proposed the formation of a JIT on the Panama issue and then he wrote a letter to the Supreme Court for the formation of a commission. “Now after one year and 17 days, the JIT is being constituted which is an endorsement of the PM's stance.”

She said the JIT had not been constituted on the basis of prayers of the petitioners in the Panama case, as all their prayers had been rejected by the court, which were supported by useless documents downloaded from the internet.

She made it clear that the prime minister was given the mandate by the people of Pakistan and he was answerable to them and would not resign on the demand of anyone.

Criticising the PPP leadership, she said after committing record corruption in their tenure, they still had the audacity to agitate on the issue of corruption, which was not only strange but also a sign of doomsday.

If the PPP could clean the Karachi city, it would be quite an achievement, Marriyum remarked.

Separately, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz, during a media talk in Lahore, said Imran should at least respect the courts even if he did not have some respect for the masses. Let the JIT perform its duties, he said, adding that truth would be victorious.

He said CPEC would be completed at all costs and warned the domestic and foreign enemies to shut their mouth.

Also, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Dr Asif Kirmani in a statement said Imran had lost the Panama match and must show sportsmanship. He added that Imran on the one hand was distributing sweets and on the other hand not accepting the JIT.

Kirmani remarked that the number of people in a wedding ceremony was more than the public gathering of Asif Ali Zardari at Jhang.

Similarly, the prime minister’s spokesperson, Dr Musadik Malik, told a private TV channel that the decision to constitute a JIT had validated the PML-N’s stance.

Musadik said the premier’s resignation was a wish of the PTI but he would not resign on the desire of opposition parties. The prime minister, he added, was elected with the votes of people and would continue to serve them till the completion of his five-year term.

On the other hand, Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana said the elements trying to disrupt the pace of development by creating political instability and intended to achieve their political motives by exploiting the Panama Papers issue would not succeed.

Talking to a delegation of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association at the Punjab House, Islamabad, he said the government would complete its tenure and no one could mislead the people.