Tape related to NAB chief a move to malign institutions: Firdous

LAHORE: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said a controversial tape related to the NAB chairman has been created as a planned move to malign institutions.

She said it has been a trait of the PML-N to exert pressure on institutions to obtain verdicts of its choice but the government would continue to side by them as a facilitator in the process of accountability.

Talking to the media at an Iftar reception here on Friday, Dr Firdous, while responding to a question related to the recent leaked tape of NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javaid Iqbal, said it is an engineered move and a targeted act to malign the institutions of the country.

“It is an engineered tape, a managed move and a targeted agenda, it has been the trait of the PML-N to release such tapes in market but we will not let anyone weaken the institutions,” she said, adding that the PML-N leadership has taken a major U-turn on the issue related to the tape of the NAB chairman. She said Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif had stated that his party wouldn’t comment over the personal life and act of any person.

However, she said that after a ‘new dictation’, figures like Khwaja Asif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi started pointing fingers at the government. She said the government has clarified that the person who owns the channel that ran the tape held no office in the current set up and is only part of the consultation process over media strategy.

She said it is regretful that the opposition has tried to attribute this controversy to the government. The group of ‘politically dead’ politicians has started targeting the government to elevate themselves after this tape came to surface that is unjustified.

She demanded the NAB assign its spokesperson the task to sum up the debate in the media and respond to queries related to this development. She said persons who were carrying the baggage of corruption have realized that the noose is tightening around their neck. She said all this has been done with the support of criminal elements that were already notorious for their crimes and had many complaints against them.

The government would continue to safeguard the institutions so that they could perform their constitutional role in discouraging the corrupt practices and nabbing the corrupt elements. She said it was no more the old Pakistan where these people used to dictate the institutions to get results of their choice and the government wouldn’t not let anyone create hurdles for the national institutions.

Earlier, Firdous said the corrupt elements are using backdoor to remain politically alive and the prisoners of ‘Takht-e-Lahore’ are busy criticizing the prime minister.

However, she said under the PTI government, only the politics related to the interests of the nation would continue. She said under Imran Khan, the country is heading towards a positive direction and economical situation has started witnessing improvement.

She lauded Zakrya Butt, the organizer of the event, and welcomed her for joining the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.