Mere admission of ‘Imran blunder’ is not enough, Maryam tells Bajwa

PML-N senior vice president calls for throwing PTI chief out of politics at Multan workers convention

PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz has called for throwing PTI chief Imran Khan out of politics, saying that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa admitted that the establishment made a blunder by supporting the previous PTI-led government.

“Bajwa sahab following his retirement admitted that he made a blunder like Imran Khan. It was the biggest blunder in the 75-year history of the country. This blunder wreaked havoc across the country,” she said while addressing a workers convention in Multan on Sunday.

“Now mere admission of this blunder is enough. Now we have to remove this stain from the nation’s forehead. This fitna [mischief] should be thrown out of the politics.”

The ruling party leader said the “cabal of five” nurtured the former premier but “ the same snake that they nurtured is now biting them”.

She was apparently referring to former PM Imran’s allegations that the then army chief, Gen Bajwa colluded with his rivals to topple his government in April last year and also blamed the former military chief for the prevailing economic and political crises.

Maryam also took a jibe at the former spy chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, saying that Imran is unable to come to the terms as to how to do politics without the former’s support.

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Her statement comes a day after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah levelled allegations that former army chief General (retd) Bajwa and former DG ISI General (retd) Faiz “facilitated” PTI chief Imran Khan until their last day in service.

Read more: Qamar, Faiz ‘facilitated’ Imran till their last day

“This fact is clear as day,” the minister said on a private channel programme, referring to the top military leadership’s support for the PTI chief.

Earlier, Maryam also claimed that her party’s rule began on November 28 – the day Gen Qamar retired.

Moreover, the former army chief had admitted to the military’s interference in the country’s politics “for 70 years” in his farewell address.

‘Jaib Bharo Tehreek’

Speaking about the arrests of PTI leaders, Maryam mocked them saying, “Let’s collect donations for sending them a truck load of tissue paper”.

Maryam compared the arrests of opposition leaders during the tenure of Imran-led government with the detention of PTI leaders.

“I feel proud of Nawaz Sharif when I see them crying. We faced arrests with bravery and courage but look at them they are shedding tears,” she remarked.

Responding to PTI chief Imran Khan’s Jail Bharo Tehreek (fill the prison movement), Maryam said the former premier ran a Jaib Bharo Tehreek (fill the pocket movement) when he was in power.

She asked the PTI leaders to get their bails cancelled if they wanted to go to prison.

Maryam also blamed the previous PTI-led government for skyrocketing inflation, saying the “government’s hands are tied” due to the “flawed” IMF agreement.

She, however, assured the supporters that the PML-N led government will not just blame its predecessors for prevailing crisis but will take measures to steer country out of it.

Sana to ‘treat’ Imran in prison

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Imran Khan should begin his jail filling movement soon, so he can “treat” him in prison.

The PML-N stalwart said, “They [PTI leaders] will be kept where we were kept… we will not be harsh like you and will provide all facilities, but, we will not provide that one thing without which you cannot live”.

Also read: Govt dares Imran to walk the talk

He said that propaganda is being done that maybe PML-N is afraid of elections. “PML-N is not afraid of the election… we will contest the election and form the government in Punjab after winning it,” he added.

The interior minister said that Nawaz Sharif made the country a nuclear power and Pakistan was going to become an Asian tiger under his reign. Nawaz Sharif, he further said, made six nuclear explosions for the sake of the country compared to India's five, adding that the world did not accept that any Muslim country became a nuclear power.

Rana Sanaullah said that Pakistan exists today only because it became a nuclear power. He said the economy was progressing in the 1990s. “India would have attacked us if were not a nuclear power under prevailing economic crisis.”