Shujaat calls for banning PTI, Nawaz flays Imran’s ‘facilitators’

PML-Q chief predicts Imran Khan’s party will 'soon learn about its fate'

Nawaz Sharif, the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former prime minister, has questioned who will respect a justice system that welcomes a corrupt individual involved in a Rs60 billion corruption scandal.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Nawaz stated, "I was disqualified and thrown into jail for not accepting a few thousand dirhams as salary from my son, while on the other hand, a proven corrupt individual was made sadiq and ameen, thereby insulting the position of Allah's last Messenger (PBUH).

بیٹے سے چند ہزار درہم تنخواہ نہ لینے پر مجھے نا اہل کروا کر جیل پھینک دیا گیا اور دوسری طرف ایک ثابت شدہ کرپٹ کو صادق اور امین بنا کر اللہ کے آخری رسول صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم کے مقام کی توہین کی گئی۔
ہمیں سزا سنانے والے، 60 ارب لوٹنے والے کا استقبال کرتے ہیں۔
کون کرے گا ایسے…

— Nawaz Sharif (@NawazSharifMNS) May 17, 2023

Shujaat calls for banning PTI

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat has stated that whether there are elections or not, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will soon learn about its fate and there should be a ban on the former ruling party.

Also read: ‘Orchestrated’ May 9 vandalism will never be allowed again: COAS

Speaking to participants of a rally in Lahore organised in support of the armed forces of Pakistan, Shujaat said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir is the commander of the Pakistan Army and whoever speaks against him will be speaking against the country. "This is the first time in 75 years that they (PTI) have tried to do something like this," he added while referring to vandalism following the May 9 arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.

In an unprecedented show of vandalism last week, PTI supporters had attacked and caused damage to the historic Corps' Commander’s House — originally known as Jinnah House and which once served as the residence of the founding father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah — hours after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested PTI chief Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case on Tuesday.

Pictures and videos from the historic building showed that all the rooms, halls, drawing rooms, living rooms, walls, curtains, doors, wooden ceilings, and even the floor had been burnt by the protesters.

The 130-year-old building of the Military Engineering Services, a few furlongs away from Corps' Commander House, was also set on fire, where valuable records, furniture, and vehicles were set ablaze.

In the aftermath of widespread rioting and protests following Imran’s arrest, several party leaders including Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Shireen Mazari, Maleeka Bukhari and Fayyazul Hassan Chauhan, among others, were taken into custody.

Also read: May 9 rioters may be tried under Army Act

PML-Q leader also said that today's rally is not of any one group or political party, but it is an issue of national survival, and all parties should unite on this. "These people are holding rallies for their own political gain, but they will not be successful," he added.

Shujaat stated that official secret and military acts should be invoked against PTI, and cases should be registered. "A person who calls himself a leader incites people to engage in violence."

He demanded that ban should be imposed on PTI and those who speak against Pakistan should receive punishment. Shujaat further said that from day one, our stance has been that elections should be held simultaneously throughout Pakistan.

Former Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar and others also addressed the gathering and demanded that those responsible for the events of May 9 be brought to justice.