Three years in – and now into their second consecutive term – federal ministers show no signs of letting up on their attacks against embattled PTI founder Imran Khan, holding him squarely responsible for the economic and security quagmires that Pakistan has had to wade through during his rule.
As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's enduring popularity continues to get under the skin of the PML-N-led government, two senior federal ministers – Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal – used rallies in their hometowns as pulpits to keep Imran Khan firmly in their crosshairs.
The PML-N leaders accused the incarcerated leader of being responsible for most of the ills confronting Pakistan, all the while announcing that the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led central government has finally managed to turn things around in the country.
Despite the endless criticism, the defence minister, in the same breath, said that there was no need to abuse PTI, as its leaders were already going at each other, asserting that the former ruling party has split into many factions.
Khawaja Asif, while addressing a crowd in Sialkot, said that Imran Khan was and forever will be a pickpocket and a self-absorbed individual. He noted that Imran had refused to sit with opposition parties when he was in power, even when there were fears of an attack from India.
However, now in prison, he has asked his party not to sit with the government on security matters if he was not invited to the meeting. "Imagine the contradiction," he added.
He congratulated the Shehbaz-led government for giving a historic concession of 16 per cent in electricity tariffs, calling it no small feat. He said that whenever Nawaz Sharif, his brother, or his daughter are in power, the days of economic progression begin.
He announced a new motorway from Sialkot to Kharian and added that a new lane was being constructed on the existing motorway.
While acknowledging the deteriorating security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, he paid rich tribute to soldiers for laying down their lives for the motherland. He said that the government was not against any specific group or individual, but anyone who was against the people of the country would have to pay the price.
Ahsan Iqbal, addressing a crowd in Zafarwal, said that a certain judge and the then generals had brought Imran Khan - a total novice - to power. He said that this amateur, while in the driving seat, did what amateurs do: ended up having an accident.
He added that the man who was given the keys to the country had not even run a union council in his entire life.
He said that Imran Khan had brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy. Instead of shouldering the blame for his failures, he accused his opponents.
Iqbal said that had the then-opposition alliance not sent Imran Khan home via a vote of no confidence on April 11, 2022, Pakistan would have defaulted. Had that happened, he said, assets would have been repossessed, creditors would have questioned the country's missile-firing capabilities, and conditions would have been imposed that would have jeopardised security.
He added that if the PML-N had wanted to save its politics, it would have gone for early elections soon after removing the PTI government, but instead, they chose the difficult route to fix the economy, as the country couldn't have afforded the decision-making limitations of an interim setup.
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