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If Nawaz gives call to workers, Imran won’t find place to hide: PML-N

By our correspondents
July 17, 2017

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb responding to the fulminations of Imran Khan at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers convention on Sunday, wherein he accused the government of attacking the state institutions and vowed to defend their honour, strongly castigated him for what she termed as sheer hypocrisy on his part.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, while referring to PTI chief’s calls to the party workers to come on streets, she said if Nawaz Sharif gave a call to his party workers, then Imran would have no place to hide.

The minister asked that how a person who had been abusing the state institutions, had attacked parliament and hung dirty clothes on the premises of the Supreme Court, could talk about defending and upholding their sanctity and honour.

She alleged that Imran Khan had used Zakat funds for money laundering and was a fugitive from three courts but he still had the audacity to point accusing fingers at others and ask for their accountability.

Marriyum advised Imran to unlock the Ehtesab Commission of Khyber Pakhrunkhwa and put that lock on his own wagging tongue. The minister said that Imran was a liar, a thief and a mentally deranged person and the entire nation was a witness to that.

Marriyum said that the workers of PTI had seen the real face of Imran and were deserting him to join other political parties and the masses were well aware of what he was doing to them. She said that the PTI had become a party of the corrupt elements and carpet-baggers.

She advised Imran to wait for the SC decision, adding that the prime minister would emerge triumphant like always and Imran would have to bite dust.

The minister said that the people of Pakistan would not spare Imran for what he had been doing during the last four years.

Meanwhile, talking to the media in Sialkot, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the PML-N government would challenge the joint investigation team (JIT) report in the Supreme Court on Monday (today).

“The PML-N government has decided to defend every clause of the report with complete proof in the Supreme Court,” he said. Khawaja Asif said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family would emerge victorious from the Supreme Court. Anti-state elements were busy in hatching conspiracies against democracy and the democratic system in the country, he added.

He said the government was successfully foiling all the conspiracies against the country and would not allow anyone to derail democratic system. Khawaja Asif made it clear that the prime minister would not step down and continue serving the nation. Nawaz had a heavy mandate of masses and, therefore, he would never resign, the defence minister said.

He said Nawaz was the most popular prime minister of Pakistan, whose government was toppled illegally twice in the past. He added that the PML-N government would complete the constitutional term.

“Every time Nawaz Sharif became much stronger after his government was toppled," he said adding that the PML-N government was toppled in 1999 as a punishment for making Pakistan an atomic power.

He said that the prevailing political scenario was increasing the prime minister’s popularity. He said the PML-N would win the 2018 general elections with a majority vote, adding that the nation was fully supporting the prime minister.

The federal minister said the armed forces were defending the eastern and western borders. The defence of Pakistan was in strong hands and the armed forces of were fully capable of defending every inch of the motherland.

He said Pakistan would continue playing a front-line role against terrorism to establish durable peace in the region. Khawaja Asif said the areas not paying electricity bills would continue facing loadshedding despite the increase in power generation. 

Earlier, the defence minister lashed out at the PTI, saying in a tweet that a certain party resigned from the National Assembly then begged to withdraw the resignations and was currently demanding the prime minister’s resignation without any shame.

Our Peshawar Bureau adds: Meanwhile, addressing a public meeting at Bazidkhel village near Peshawar after inaugurating a natural gas supply project, PML-N KP President Amir Muqam said that the Supreme Court should take notice of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak's statement that he would allow open corruption in the province if the court didn't disqualify Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Amir Muqam said that the chief minister's statement was tantamount to pressuring and dictating the court. Referring to Imran Khan, he said there was a huge difference between running a country and playing cricket as it needed patience, not emotions.

Amir Muqam, who is also an advisor to the prime minister, said that corruption was already rampant in the province. "Imran Khan and PTI are harmful for the country. They are conspiring against democracy and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)) at the behest of the enemies of Pakistan," he alleged.

He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had put the country on the track to development and prosperity. "The PML-N must remain in power to complete the ongoing uplift projects," he insisted. 

He pointed out that before Nawaz Sharif came into power, the country was on the verge of economic collapse and the businessmen and industrialists were winding up their business. "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif restored their confidence and took steps to overcome the energy crisis," he maintained.

Amir Muqam said the prime minister was not fighting an individual or a party rather he was foiling the conspiracies of enemies who cannot tolerate the progress and prosperity of Pakistan.

He said it was because of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's vision that foreign investors were investing in mega projects that would create job opportunities and also improve the economy.  He said the people were behind the prime minister and they would foil any conspiracy against their elected leader.

Pointing towards the huge crowd of people and describing himself as a sepoy of Nawaz Sharif, he said the opponents should see as to how many people had gathered at the venue on his call.

Criticising the PTI-led provincial coalition government, he said the recent rains for just one day in Peshawar had exposed the true face of the rulers in the province. Ridiculing the PTI's hollow claims of having brought a change in the province, he remarked that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak should launch a 'metro boat service' in the provincial capital to ferry people marooned by rainwater.

Amir Muqam said that closing 30 government-run girls' primary schools in the name of educational reforms was equal to shutting down the doors of knowledge for the daughters of the nation.   Earlier, he inaugurated the five-kilometer long gas supply line for households in the National Assembly constituency, NA-4 Peshawar. He also announced other uplift schemes for the constituency. PML-N leaders Nasir Musazai, Rais Khan Achar, Sifatullah, Dilnawaz Khan and nazim Sangu Landai union council Qaiser Shakil were also present on the occasion.