Marriyum denies polls news attributed to PM

Minister urges the media to refrain from publishing false and anti-public news

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday refuted reports that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had refused to hold Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies elections.

She also denied that a major meeting was chaired by the premier in Lahore.

“Fabricated, baseless and malicious rumors should not be called news,” she said in a statement.

Marriyum requested the media to publish and broadcast news issued by the Prime Minister's Office or the information ministry in this regard.

Earlier in the day, media reports quoting PM Shehbaz said that he had refused to hold elections for both the provincial assemblies.

Separately, the information minister fired a broadside at the PTI for unleashing a targeted social media campaign against the free flour scheme launched by PM Shehbaz to provide relief to the masses in the holy month of Ramadan.

“Ironically, those who have looted the people’s flour, bread and sugar for four years are trying to make the prime minister’s free flour scheme controversial,” she said while referring to the previous government’s tenure.

The minister, in a news statement, said the PTI leadership which had a “dirty mindset” did not even spare people-centric projects, politicising them just to achieve their ulterior motives.

Marriyum urged the media to refrain from publishing false and anti-public news which reflected such a “filthy mindset”.

Imran Khan might have ordered "infected wheat" during his government’s tenure, she said sarcastically while dismissing reports circulating on the social media regarding distribution of low quality edible at free flour centers.

She said that it was beyond her understanding why the PTI leadership got hurt when the projects like metro, orange train, free flour and electricity were initiated for the people of Punjab.

Imran, who had "deprived" the people of sugar and wheat, was worried about how Shehbaz had been ensuring free distribution of these edibles among the masses, Marriyum remarked.

She said that people did not need to worry as the country no longer had a prime minister like Imran who did not only render the people jobless by robbing them of their employment, but also forced them to have their three times meal on Langar Khana (food centres).

The minister said that now the country was "blessed" with a prime minister like Shehbaz who worked tirelessly to chart Pakistan on the path of progress and development by ensuring massive job opportunities for youth and reducing poverty.

Prime Minister Shehbaz has resumed all the development projects that were halted by Imran who is now bent on politicising the free flour scheme, she added.

With input from APP