Next polls to be ‘free’ of mismanagement

Marriyum says economic terrorism hallmark of PTI rule


Our Correspondent April 23, 2022

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ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that elections were the right of the people that would be held on time in a transparent and fair manner.

“There will be no failure of the RTS (Results Transmission System) like it happened in 2018,” the minister said while addressing a news conference.

"This time, fog won't appear like it did in Daska. This time, ballot boxes will not be stolen like they were in Daska. This time, officers of the Election Commission of Pakistan will not go missing like they did in Daska," she added.

A day earlier, after former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan during a mammoth rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, had once again demanded immediate elections, urging "whoever made the mistake" of ousting him to rectify it and call elections.

Coming to the economy, she said that “economic terrorism” and autocratic steps like the attack on parliament and the Constitution were hallmarks of the four-year misrule of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

She said that the former prime minister had attacked the Constitution as he tried to scuttle the constitutional move to remove him from office through a vote of no-confidence, but ironically he was asking others for course correction.

Marriyum asked Imran to apologise to the nation for skyrocketing prices of staple food items and medicines by unleashing “economic terrorism” during his four years of rule.

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"Let me tell you today, the reason for your ouster is you and your deeds," Aurangzeb said, and added Imran had failed to fulfil his claim of providing 10 million jobs, and instead rendered some six million jobless due to bad governance.

She accused Imran of sponsoring cartels and mafias, which led to increase in the prices of wheat flour, sugar and medicines.

Ridiculing Imran for repeating a speech ad nauseam, she said that his lies and arrogance had no end.Imran was involved in money laundering through foreign funding of his party, Marriyum said, adding that the case of PTI funding was being heard by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

She said that the country was reeling under the burden of record debts taken by Imran-led government, and the masses were suffering the consequences of his “economic terrorism”.

Imran had lost the confidence of people and ousted from the power through a democratic way of no-confidence move by the true public representatives, she added.

The minister said that Toshakhana was the country’s Baitul Mal and Imran, the so- called head of the “State of Medina” robbed it.

She said that the PTI leadership made a hue and cry about self-respect and honour, but they made compromise on the Kashmir issue as Indian PM Narendra Modi had illegally annexed the state during their tenure.

Imran was in fact the campaign manager of Modi’s re-election, she added. Taking a dig on the PTI leadership, Marriyum said that they claimed to have won another World Cup after Imran’s visit to the United States.

Slamming the former PM, she said that Imran had converted the prime minister’s chair into a ‘merchant’s shop’. It seemed that he had bought the Toshakhana gifts with the money borrowed from other people.

She also said that Imran last night claimed that Farah Gujjar could not be held accountable as she held no public office, but he should remember that he had ordered to handcuff a daughter in front of her father, who was also not a public-office holder. “Maryam Nawaz was targeted in retaliation,” she recalled.

She further said that there was a contradiction in the words and deeds of Imran, who had been telling lies to the nation for the past four years and delivering similar speeches.

Marriyum said that the media was suppressed during Imran’s rule. Notice had been taken of the organised campaign against the institutions through robotic social media networks and those involved would be taken to task, she added.

The minister said that today the people of Pakistan were forced to pay expensive electricity and gas bills due to sheer bad governance of the PTI government.

The present government having representation of all the federating units, would make difficult decisions for the people’s betterment and economic revival, she added.

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