‘Vilification of institutions intolerable’
Maryam Nawaz makes her way to the Quaid's mausoleum amid a large crowd of PML-N supporters that have set up camps along the route.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has warned that it will not tolerate vilification and conspiracies against national institutions.
PML-N leaders Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan and Ataullah Tarar asserted while addressing a press conference at the party secretariat that former prime minister Imran Khan had become a threat to national security.
They said defamation of national security agencies was tantamount to treason, adding that an unreliable person was risking Pakistan’s security for the sake of his ego.
“There is no threat of an external conspiracy but the existence of this person is a threat to the country,” they said.
The PML-N leaders warned that riots would not be allowed in the garb of a long march.
Tarar said the former prime minister had crossed all limits He said a person could be called Mir Sadiq or Mir Jafar if he stabbed his benefactors in the back and committed vengeful atrocities.
He alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman had harmed everyone who had done good to him, after which, he had now started insulting state institutions.
He said claims about an international conspiracy had been made without any evidence.
He said Imran Khan tried to portray himself as a leader of the Muslim world but kept hurling threats against his opponents. “We won’t let him do that anymore.”
He said the former prime minister could criticise his political opponents but should not blame state officials for his incompetence and corruption.
Malik Mohammad Ahmad Khan said that while Imran Khan was addressing public meetings in various cities, the security agencies and the ISPR had termed his statement about a conspiracy baseless.
“How long can one tolerate Imran Khan’s lies that he keeps repeating over and over again so that they start to seem true,” he said.
Read 'Will never damage Pakistan', says Imran after backlash on 'anti-state' speech
He said the former deputy speaker of the National Assembly had called the assembly traitor and tried to dissolve it.
The PML-N leader said Imran Khan should be ashamed to associate himself with Sirajud Daula.
“He is threatening the very existence of the country by issuing declarations of treason. He is implicating Pakistan’s security agencies in a conspiracy and we will not tolerate it,” he said.
He asked if violating the Constitution and dissolving parliament were not acts of treason.
He said the former prime minister had openly told his supporters in meetings to shout slogans of traitors and robbers against his opponents.
He alleged that the PTI chairman wanted to create fissures that could result in riots in the streets.
“However, this conspiracy will also fail. The real conspiracy is being hatched by Imran Khan who is threatening the integrity of the state on the basis of lies. Isn’t this treason?” he asserted.
He said the army is the protector of the geographical borders and aspersions about it would not be tolerated. The soldiers are fighting terrorism, he pointed out.
Malik Mohammad Ahmad Khan said the former prime minister had led his followers into a blind alley. “You will be prosecuted in a public court for what you are talking about every day.”
He said the PTI leader was unaware about the geography and history of the country. “The country is not facing external threats but Imran Khan’s conspiracy.”
He said the governor of Punjab had created an unconstitutional situation in the province. If he would not leave then he should work in accordance with the Constitution.
“If Imran Khan’s statements cross the limit of freedom of expression, the law will take its course,” warned the PML-N leader.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2022.