Imran banking on judiciary to return to power, claims Maryam

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday blasted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, claiming he had pinned hopes on the judiciary to get into power again after the establishment left him in the lurch, local media reported.

Addressing a gathering of PMLN youth leaders, she also boasted about the schemes launched by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and current premier Shehbaz Sharif for the country’s youth, adding that they launched laptop schemes, loan initiatives and scholarships.

“But Imran Khan is inciting people for the Jail Bharo Movement,” she said while questioning if anyone had launched campaigns for “college Bharo and universities bharo” to promote education. “He [Imran Khan] is exploiting youth for political gains but his children are receiving education in foreign universities,” she quipped.

According to Geo News, the PMLN chief organiser also slammed Imran for his “super king” remarks about ex-chief of the army staff General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

“If General Bajwa was the super king at that time, what were you, his servant?” said Maryam during her address to party leaders in Lahore on Tuesday. In a televised address last week, the former premier had termed the former military leader “super king”, saying that Gen (retd) Bajwa acted as one during the PTI’s stint in power.

Continuing her criticism of the former premier, the PMLN leader asked him how he could sleep well at night after lying so much. She said that everyone knew how the PTI used religion for their political interests.

Ali Raza adds: The PMLN leader admitted that the country’s economy was in a bad state and the government could not create new jobs. Maryam said Imran Khan ran away from all his promises such as providing 10 million jobs, 50 million houses, etc. She said in the current economic situation, we cannot create new jobs.

She said that presently Pakistan needed performance, not any narrative.

Party sources said addressing the youth leadership meeting at the party’s Model Town office, the PMLN chief organiser said Imran Khan has no economic plan and his narrative was also based on lies.

“We have to respond to their false narrative; the long march is not for the country and the people,” Maryam said and urged the youth to tell people that the country’s bad economic crisis was due to the previous PTI government.

She said Imran Khan’s politics was based on lies and he never spoke truth. She added the cipher case was nothing but a fraud and he called his opponents as foreign agents for making his false narrative. She alleged that Imran Khan deliberately spoiled Pakistan’s relations with America and the West.

“This person used to say that no one helped me as much as Qamar Javed Bajwa and today he says that Qamar Javed Bajwa brought down my [Imran’s] government,” Maryam said and added that when General Bajwa went home, Imran Khan targeted him for political point-scoring. She claimed that even after leaving the government, Imran Khan kept meeting with Gen Bajwa.

She said Imran Khan launched a systematic campaign against the opposing political forces under a well-thought-out conspiracy. She said praise to Allah that those who were badmouthing Nawaz Sharif were now calling each other Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq.

She asked the PMLN youth to be active on the social media and show the progress being made by the present government as well as the projects completed during Nawaz Sharif’s era.

Later, Maryam Nawaz had separate meetings with various PMLN leaders including Shah Ghulam Qadir, former provincial minister Rana Mashhood, former member of National Assembly Mian Muhammad Farooq and former MNA Ashiq Hussain Kirmani.

In these meetings, the current political situation of the country and re-organisation of the party were discussed.