Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb denounced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for trying to drag institutions into politics for saving his skin in corruption cases.
“The complete record of Imran Khan’s corruption is with institutions and that is why he is calling them out and criticising them regularly,” the minister said in an interview on Saturday.
She said the institutions did not want to interfere in politics, but it was the PTI chief who criticised them all the time and has been making all-out efforts to drag them into politics.
Aurangzeb termed Khan an “ungrateful person” who always ditched his benefactors. Whether it was former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Jahangir Tareen, Aleem Khan or late Naeem ul Haq. She said: "Khan followed the same pattern in the case of all these people".
She alleged that the PTI chairman offered a lifetime extension to the ex-army chief, which he declined. However, Khan resorted to using inappropriate words for him in public gatherings upon his refusal.
Aurangzeb called out Khan for being a “fascist person” disguised under a political cloak inflicting irreparable damage to the country. His workers burned schools, state buildings, ambulances and mosques after his arrest in a corruption case.
It was not the public reaction but an armed assault on the public and private properties as part of a premeditated plan, she said, vowing stern action against those who were involved in vandalism and arson in the wake of Khan's arrest.
She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had visited the Jinnah House which was burned by armed goons of PTI. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had received all the details of those who were involved in such "abhorrent and unpardonable" incidents.
Action would be taken against them as per law so that nobody would dare to take such misadventures in future, she added.
The minister lauded law enforcement agencies for exercising full restraint against the violent workers of PTI who pelted stones at them and even resorted to firing on their vehicles.
On the other hand, Khan warned of severe sequences if he was arrested again, she added.
“The PTI has a track record of violent protests,” she said while recalling its 2014 sit-in when the party's protestors hung “dirty trousers” on the Constitution Avenue and along the walls of national institutions.
She said the coalition government did not believe in political victimisation and had nothing to do with the PTI chief's arrest. “Imran Khan was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and if the government had to arrest him, they would not have waited for 14 months,” the minister said.
The minister said the courts were giving a bundle of relief to Khan who had disregarded its orders in the past and welcomed the police at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore with petrol bombs when they went to arrest him in line with the warrant issued by the courts.
She further added that the judiciary was the main pillar of the state and had the same role just like the executive and legislature. Collectively, all these pillars would have to play their due role in implementing the writ of the state.
To a query, she said the deposed prime minsiter was ousted from power through democratic means and the power of the vote. He hatched a conspiracy against the state when the then-opposition parties tabled a no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly.
To another query, she said there was anger among their workers over the relief being given to Khan who weakened the state, ruined diplomatic relations of Pakistan with friendly countries and pushed the nation into an economic quagmire by looting the national exchequer.
She said the law of the land allowed them to record protests in a peaceful way. “I can promise that not a single pot will be broken during the protest of PDM workers.”
“We have sought permission from administration as we are not going to burn the state buildings,” she added.
She recalled the tenure of Khan when political victimisation was at its peak and all the opposition leaders were sent to jail. PM Shehbaz was denied medicine and even a chair in jail to offer his prayer.
The ex-premier was facing outcomes of his own actions, she said, recalling how he made fun of his opponents for their ailments.
Now, she said, Khan himself was seeking bails from the court on medical grounds.
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