ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has slammed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan over his recent statements, accusing the former premier of “uttering blatant lies”.
During an interview with Sky News, the minister said, “government has nothing to do with his (Imran’s) arrest, nor has his arrest has anything to do with the postponement of elections as Imran is projecting in the global and domestic media.
The minister claimed that the former premier was repeatedly breaching the law rather than assisting the police, who were merely complying to court orders. She claimed that Khan had corruption cases filed against him and that he had to be detained and taken to court to answer for the allegations against him.
The minister said that the PTI workers used petrol bombs to harm police officers.
Aurangzeb dismissed claims that the police were using excessive means and clarified that the officers outside Zaman Park were not armed. On the contrary, she said that 65 police personnel, including DIG Operations Islamabad Police, had been injured in assault by PTI workers.
She claimed that Imran Khan ought to behave responsibly, adding that it demonstrated the PTI chief’s deceit how he cited security risks when the court summoned him, but he was prepared to hold political rallies.
PTI chief wants anarchy, civil war: Marriyum
“Imran Khan wants chaos, anarchy, civil war, and chaos in Pakistan as he is inciting followers to violence,” Marriyum Aurangzeb said.
She noted that Imran Khan had no right to use his popularity to fuel civil war, anarchy, and violence in Pakistan. The minister said, “when the police came to arrest Imran Khan, he used children and women as shields to protect him.”
Holding Khan responsible for the current economic situation of Pakistan, she said that the former PM brought Pakistan to the brink of default.
Explaining her point, she insisted that Khan violated IMF programme, which he had signed himself in March 2022, causing the country’s economic crisis to multiply.
While answering a question she said, “if Khan is not guilty, he must appear in court and present proof of his innocence.”
She said that during Imran’s four years in power, he filed bogus charges against his political rivals and jailed them to satisfy his personal grudge.
She claimed that Imran Khan tried to damage Pakistan’s reputation and censored the media while he was prime minister.
—APP
