Marriyum dares Imran to name ‘agencies’ involved in politics

ISLAMABAD:

Daring former prime minister Imran Khan to name the “agencies and their officials” who were involved in politics, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief wanted all institution heads to act like former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal.

Addressing a news conference, she said, “Either point out the persons and agencies who have given you (Imran) a briefing about the corruption of PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) and PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) or stop this drama once and for all if you lack the courage.”

She said that Imran, while addressing a seminar the other day, had claimed that he was briefed about the opposition leaders’ corruption by the “agencies” and the incumbent chief election commissioner (CEC) was appointed by him on their guarantee.

“Which guarantee was given to him (Imran) for the CEC? Which agency had given him the guarantee and why he needed the guarantee at all?” she questioned.

The minister asked whether he wanted assurance that his party would not be declared a foreign-aided party and he himself as a “foreign agent” under that guarantee.

Read more: Marriyum demands arrest of Imran

She also wondered whether Imran himself had sought the reports from the agencies. She advised the PTI chairman to stop churning out “lies”.
Marriyum alleged that the former premier was a “fascist who wants to impose fascism on the entire country”.

“Imran Khan is a conspirator, and his only expertise is hatching conspiracies against Pakistan,” she said, claiming that he was the root cause of all the problems being faced by the country today.

The minister said that during his so-called 22 years long political struggle, Imran had always tried to pose himself as an “angel” and the others as “thieves” while giving an “Islamic touch”.

“Lies, drama and hypocrisy were the hallmarks of his politics,” she added.

Marriyum expressed disappointment at PTI chief’s refusal to appear before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in connection with the prohibited funding case. “He said that he would not give any answer to the FIA about the prohibited funding,” she said. “Whether it is the court, the opposition or the media, he has refused to answer to anybody about his wrongdoings.”

She further said that Imran was not a “sacred cow” and would have to face the law.
If three-times prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz had presented themselves for accountability, then Imran could not escape from the “long arm of law”, she added.

Marriyum said that Imran used all state institutions to victimise Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif. He submitted false evidence against the PML-N leadership to the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom and also provided the same material to foreign journalist David Rose but could not succeed in his designs, she claimed.

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NAB failed to produce evidence in courts to prove corruption of the PML-N leadership, she added.

The minister said that Imran set up an asset recovery unit in the Prime Minister’s Office with his “tout” Shahzad Akbar as its head for victimising the political opponents. “He (Imran) should be ashamed of himself as he had made a mockery of the accountability process,” she added.

“He (Imran) should be ready to face action in the foreign funding case,” she remarked.

Drawing comparisons with Nawaz, she also took Imran to task for talking about the disintegration of Pakistan into three parts and maligning the state institutions when ousted from power.

Marriyum said that the “plotter” Imran brought up the so-called regime change conspiracy “drama” on realising his imminent ouster from power.
“If he was serious to hold fresh general elections in the country, he should have dissolved the assemblies when the first National Security Committee (NSC) meeting had ruled out the foreign conspiracy,” she remarked.

She further alleged that the PTI chief gave a call for mutiny in the rank and file of the armed forces through his chief of staff, ordered his trolls to malign the martyrs of Lasbella helicopter crash, and hired the people to raise slogans against his political opponents at the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi.

To a query, she alleged that the former premier had damaged the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by halting its projects. He even made the Chinese government controversial in exchange for foreign funding, she added.
“It was the first time the Kashmir cause was traded off in exchange for foreign funding,” she alleged.