Maryam says Imran is more interested in rallies than facing courts

LAHORE:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz said on Monday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan showed his plaster when called by the court but was always ready to go to the political rallies.

Addressing a ceremony in Lahore, Maryam, the newly-appointed chief organiser of the PML-N, said that there was no external threat to Pakistan, warning that the country was in danger from political polarisation.

“When it comes to the country, there will be no compromise on anything, no conspiracy against the country, and the nation will be allowed to succeed,” she remarked.

She claimed that Imran made the PML-N a target of political vendetta during his term in office, but he was using the sons and daughters of the people as shields for his own protection.

“Imran Khan says that Maryam is allowed to campaign and not me, Section 144 and other restrictions were imposed even during Imran Khan’s tenure,” she added. She accused Imran of cowardice, claiming he uses others to protect himself.

“Nawaz Sharif did not send the sons of the nation to jail but he himself went to jail with his daughter,” she remarked. “Who told Imran Khan to hide under the bed? When this court calls, Imran Khan shows the plaster but is always ready for the rallies,” she added.

Maryam said that Nawaz completed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) programme for the first time in the history of Pakistan.

Regarding the Toshakhana scandal, she said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif made the details of Toshakhana public which “proved” that Imran “stole” from Toshakhana while she was “falsely accused” of taking a watch from it.

She also said that a so-called leader, who could not own his daughter and who was unable to share the grief of deceased party worker Zil-e-Shah, how would he protect the rights of the youth of the country. Zil-e-Shah was a political worker and she (Maryam) had respect for every political worker, the PML-N leader added.

It was painful that the body was abandoned at the hospital, she said, claiming that the PTI chief did not spare the body of his worker, who sacrificed his life for the party, and played politics over it and tried to get political mileage out of his death.

Maryam said that the political parties should not raise hollow slogans like the PTI was doing but take practical steps to bring the youth into the mainstream. She also said that the youth should have a sizable representation in parliament and all political parties should take steps in this connection.

Political discussion was imperative in the society and taking the youth on board was crucial, as they were the major a stakeholder in the development of the country, she added.

The PML-N leader said that the performance of her party, led by Nawaz, was self-evident, as a number of initiatives were taken to make the youth self-dependent during the party tenures, besides providing them all facilities in the education sector.

Launching the Punjab Education Endowment Fund was a historic step of Shehbaz in Punjab under which monthly stipends were given to the deserving bright students besides the provision of local and international scholarships, she added.

Launching of the laptop scheme was also a flagship initiative of the PML-N, which enabled bright students to connect with the world through the internet, she added. She then went on to highlight other achievements of her party’s previous government.

Maryam said that the PML-N left the government in 2018 with a growth rate was 6%, while during its four-year rule, the PTI rolled back economic progress and brought the GDP growth rate to around 2%.

Only a “daring and committed leader” like Nawaz could steer the country out of challenges, she declared, adding that he served the country in the best way whenever he was given an opportunity by the people of Pakistan.

The PML-N leader claimed that the PTI government resorted to “worst victimisation” of the PML-N leadership and fabricated cases against them. The entire leadership faced the cases and appeared in courts; however, nothing was proved against any PML-N leader, she added.

She asked the youth to think wisely before becoming part of such a party which was staging activities “just to create unrest and achieve personal goals”, as they have no agenda for the youth.