PM Imran Khan’s allies ready to ditch him: Maryam Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: The PMLN Vice President, Maryam Nawaz, said on Thursday that Prime Minister Imran Khan was targeting the opposition because he knew that his party’s parliamentarians are ready to ‘jump ship’ because of his “failures” due to lack of public support, failure to deliver and his inability to govern the country.

“Imran Khan is turning his guns on the opposition as he is aware that his party’s lawmakers are ready to jump ship because of his failures,” Maryam Nawaz, talking to media outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC), said. 

She said the prime minister was not ‘tenable’ for anyone, anymore, as he was aware that his ship was stuck in the storm. Maryam said the treasury members of national and provincial assemblies and the government allies won’t be in a position to carry the baggage of the government’s failures in the next election campaign.

She asked PTI’s members of the national and provincial assemblies to stop supporting the PTI government as there was unrest in the country and terror acts were on the rise. “It’s my honest advice [to him] to wear a helmet whenever you go to meet the people,” Maryam said, adding the people will grab him by the collar.

She said at first PMLN supremo Nawaz Sharif did not favour moving a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan but the party’s Central Executive Committee convinced him that people’s wishes ought to be listened to as it is the only way to steer the country out of crisis. The PMLN leader said the masses demand prime minister’s ouster, Nawaz heard people’s voice and backed the no-confidence motion. She said first the opposition would move a no-confidence motion and the future plans of who would become the prime minister would be decided later.

Speaking about the PMLN supremo’s travel plans, she said Nawaz could not come back to the country due to medical reasons. The PMLN leader claimed several sectors have witnessed more than a 500pc increase in inflation, but the prime minister announced just 15pc increase in the salaries of government employees.

Earlier, during the hearing on the appeals of Avenfield Reference on Thursday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) said lack of evidence will result in a different verdict.

It mentioned that if the father made the property illegally and gave it to son, will the daughter be found guilty? The court said that the petitioner should just prove that NAB could not prove the case, nothing else is required, a local media outlet reported.

The court inquired about the response of NAB to Maryam Nawaz’s request and expressed concerns over its progress. A division bench of Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the Avenfield Reference appeals.

Maryam Nawaz’s legal adviser Irfan Qadir said that NAB did not complete the basic details of the case, the actual value and source of the assets are not mentioned in advance. Also, it does not meet the requirements of Section 9-A of the NAB Ordinance. If the court wants, it can give bail to Maryam Nawaz.

Justice Amir Farooq said that the Supreme Court’s observations were of the initial nature. We are not looking at the evidence, we will look at the trial record. It remains to be seen whether the NAB could prove it with evidence.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar said that there will be no delay today, NAB should answer all the questions first. NAB prosecutor Sardar Mazhar mentioned that Maryam Nawaz claimed to be the trustee of the property. NAB has proved through evidences that Maryam was their beneficial owner and forgery in trust deed, which was confirmed by the trust deed deposited in the Supreme Court before the JIT.

Justice Amir Farooq said that the document is not fake, it will be called pre-dated, both signatories still believe in dates. Captain (retd) Safdar was only punished for being a witness to these signatures. The court directed all the parties to look into the case papers and adjourned the hearing till February 17.

Meanwhile, senior PMLN leader Ahsan Iqbal has claimed that five ministers of Imran Khan are in contact with his party and they will be ready to join the opposition whenever given guarantees of ticket to contest the next general elections.

Talking to the media, the PML-N secretary general said that five ministers are in contact with the PMLN leadership and they are always ready to part ways from Imran Khan. “They told us that they had remained part of different governments but never experienced such a big liar and dictator like Imran Khan in their political career,” he said.

Iqbal said the leadership of Pakistan Democratic Movement on February 11 will discuss all the constitutional and political options to get rid of the government. “Now it is also upto the government allies like MQM, PMLQ and GDA to decide as to whether they will continue to give oxygen to the government or they stand with the people suffering due to price hike, unemployment and other problems,” he said.

He said that March 23 would also be a defining day in the country’s history when people from every nook and corner of the country would reach Islamabad. The PML-N leader pointed out that the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) bill which was bulldozed in the Senate has no more legality following disqualification of Faisal Vawda by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for concealing his US nationality.

Assailing Prime Minister Imran Khan for ridiculing the opposition leaders at public meetings, Ahsan Iqbal said the premier should better find a place in circus instead of holding the prestigious office. “Country’s economy has been destroyed, fiscal deficit has reached Rs1,850 billion and Pakistan is facing isolation in the community of world while our prime minister is acting like jokers,” he said. He alleged that the incumbent government wanted to appoint judges of its liking in accountability courts through the NAB Ordinance to victimize political opponents and convict them prior to the next elections.