ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Friday, said the appointment of the new chief of army staff was the prerogative of the prime minister and he would fulfil his constitutional responsibility.
Addressing a press conference, she said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s long march has failed.
She said that Khan’s press conference was proof that he had not been hit by the bullet but was hit by “grief and sorrow” due to the failed long march.
Khan claimed that the no-confidence motion came against him was a result of the US conspiracy that wanted to impose an imported government, she added.
Marriyum said that first time in the history of Pakistan, the motion of no confidence was tabled through the constitutional method in which the allies of Imran Khan voted against him.
She said, after realising that the no-confidence motion would be successful, Khan in closed-door meeting had offered to the Chief of Army Staff an extension for an indefinite period.
She said that in public, Khan made sarcastic comments using words such as Mir Jafar, Mir Sadiq, and called neutrals “animals”.
She recalled that when the no-confidence motion was moved by the opposition, it was accepted by the then speaker and allowed discussion before voting on it.
“When Imran Khan was convinced that the no-confidence movement would be successful, he adopted the narrative of an external conspiracy,” she added.
The minister also played video clips of Khan during a press conference in which Khan purportedly took various stances after the no-confidence motion tabled in the National Assembly.
She said that Khan “misguided” the public by “telling lies and frequently cheating people”.
She recalled that when the no-confidence motion began to succeed, Imran started “threatening to shut down the entire country”.
She said that Khan had forced the then National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker “for the violation of the Constitution” and during the meeting with his party members, he asked them to keep “playing with cipher”.
She alleged that Khan had badly damaged the foreign policy of the country during his tenure.
The minister said that the man who said “absolutely not” was now “apologi ”sing” to the US by saying “it is over and behind me”.
“Imran Khan, it was not over and it was not behind us, it was in front of us and you will have to answer,” she added.
She reminded that Khan’s claim of filing cases in courts had not been fulfilled even after the passage of thirty-eight hours today.
She demanded Khan to provide receipts instead of spending so much money on lawyers’ fees.
Marriyum said that Khan “stole” the wristwatch from Toshakhana allegedly without depositing money and Toshakhana gifts to Umar Farooq.
Marriyum alleged Farah Gogi, Shahzad Akbar, the “handlers” of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan sold the wristwatch gifted by the Saudi prince sans declaring in his tax returns.
The cash amount after selling the watch was brought through a chartered plane, she further alleged.
“Imran has bragged that he would file defamation suits (against a private media group, anchorperson, and Umar Farooq) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK) but his claim is yet to materialise.”
Marriyum lamented that Khan was shedding “crocodile’s tears” about the absence of an affordable and effective justice system in the country. The provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had locked Provincial Accountability Bureau, she said.
She asked Khan to first activate the provincial accountability bureau in the KP so that it can vigorously pursue corruption cases against his provincial government. “People should judge a person who is talking about accountability but not allowing the provincial accountability bureau to function,” she held.
“He[Imran Khan] is holding the reins of the Punjab government. He should start delivering affordable justice to people in the province,” she added.
She said Khan said he would conduct a medico-legal examination from a private hospital. She said as per his statement, he should also amend the law and allow all people of Punjab to conduct their medico-legal from any private hospital to strike balance and fairness.
Imran is stressing to register the First Information Report (FIR) of his choice against some officials sans presenting any solid proof of their involvement, he should allow all to get this facility, she again quipped.
“Imran should dissolve the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies as if he is so powerless and incapacitated,” she challenged the PTI chief who had in the past raised the outcry that he could not even register the FIR of his own choice.
“Imran has not yet appeared in a defamation suit filed against him by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” the minister said.
She said Imran had not declared in his tax returns the cash amount he received after “devouring” Toshakhana gifts, “grabbing lands in collaboration with the mafia, corruption in power projects, and mishandling of LNG deals”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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