PHOTO: REUTERS
LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Friday took a swipe at the government and asked whether it was responsible for creating an impression that the new chief justice and army chief ‘favoured’ the ruling party.
“[Opposition Leader] Khursheed Shah stated in parliament that there is an impression that the chief justice-designate has a soft corner for the PML-N while the changes made in the military also suggest so,” Imran told the media while referring to Shah’s speech in parliament a day earlier.
Maryam Nawaz in her latest tweet also stated that: “There’s an end to every storm. Once all the trees have been uprooted, once all the houses have been ripped apart...”
Referring to the tweet, Imran said: “I don’t know if there is any truth in the notion. What I know is that Maryam Nawaz tweeted that the storm has passed. What does this mean? With such statements, the government is itself projecting the perception that some sort of change is suiting them.”
Observing that the Panamagate case was pending before the Supreme Court, the PTI chairman asked: “How can one say that the storm has passed?”
“The storm hasn’t passed since the case is pending in the apex court,” he remarked.
“Maryam Nawaz should not issue such statements and undermine [state] institutions,” Imran said.
“What sort of messages are they giving to the masses? Are they not giving an impression that the new army chief and chief justice are of their choice?” Imran questioned.
Imran once again demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to appear before parliament and answer allegations levelled against his family in the Panama Papers case.
“The prime minister has himself undermined the institution by lying in parliament,” adding “He will continue his boycott of parliament until the prime minister presented himself before the house [for accountability].”
The PTI chief underlined that Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s report on the Quetta Civil Hospital attack raised question marks over the government’s performance.
“The people generally try to give the impression that Imran Khan always takes U-turns, but they don’t know what ‘U-turn’ actually means. Telling a lie is [also a] U-turn.”
He praised the army for carrying out an effective operation against militants and underscored that terrorist activities in the country had declined as a result of army operations.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2016.
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