ISLAMABAD, Jun 15 (APP): Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb Wednesday said Imran Khan, himself, approved the press release of the National Security Council’s (NSC) meeting as he had no evidence to prove a foreign conspiracy against his government.
“Why did he approve the press release of National Security Council’s (NSC) meeting if he was convinced that there was a foreign conspiracy against his government and what has barred him from presenting the evidence, if any, before the forum,” she said while addressing a news conference.
Imran should, himself, have formed the judicial commission if he had any evidence which proved that his government was removed under a foreign conspiracy, she added.
She said Imran Khan had so far failed to give any evidence to prove his claim of foreign plot against his government. He, as prime minister, himself chaired the NSC meeting and endorsed its minutes which ruled out any conspiracy against his government.
The press release was a joint stance of the state and the government which was headed by Imran Khan himself, she said, adding the state could not change the official stance for the sake of his opinion and false narrative on the so-called foreign conspiracy.
The minister said the second meeting of NSC which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the same stance that there was no conspiracy against the previous government. The DG ISPR had once again categorically rejected any iota of foreign conspiracy against the Imran-led government.
“Political and military leadership present in both the NSC meetings had only one stance i.e. no conspiracy was hatched against the Imran’s regime,” she observed.
The minister said Imran Khan had evolved the theory of foreign conspiracy as he knew that all files and records were littered with the tales of inefficiency and corruption of his regime. It was part of his plan to use this fake narrative of the so-called foreign conspiracy to divert attention.
She regretted that the PTI leaders were attacking the state institutions at the whims of Imran Khan who wanted to divert attention of media and public from his corruption scandals.
When the narrative of conspiracy failed, she said, he came up with another narrative that there was a threat to his life. Now, he started blaming the present government for inflation which in fact was a gift of the Imran-led government.
She said that the real conspiracy was hatched by Imran Khan against the country by rejecting the official stance of the state on the so-called regime change plot.
Marriyum reminded Imran that he, himself, had thanked Allah Almighty and offered prayers when the no confidence motion was moved against him.
Moreover, on March 15, a US diplomat whom they later accused of conspiring against his regime was invited at the Pakistan Embassy in the US as keynote speaker at an event.
If Donald Lu was conspiring against the PTI government then why he was invited as a guest at the Pakistan embassy in Washington, she questioned.
She said, today the PTI leaders including Asad Umar and Shirin Mazari briefed the media under the guidelines of Imran Khan who asked them to divert media attention from their own misdeeds including the foreign funding case.
The minister said during his four-year rule, Imran Khan did nothing but to victimize his political opponents by initiating fake cases through NAB, FIA and other departments.
When Shehbaz Sharif got bail from LHC, the PTI challenged it in the Supreme Court but when the judges asked for proof, the petition was withdrawn by PTI legal counsel Naeem Bukahri.
The minister said that due to incompetence, inefficiency, theft, loot and plunder of the previous government, the people of Pakistan were facing unprecedented inflation today.
“Inflation in the country today is owing to the weak foundations on which the incompetent and inefficient regime of PTI signed the IMF agreement”, she said, adding the present coalition government and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were working day and night to save the people of Pakistan from inflation.
The loot and plunder of the previous regime resulted only in the increase of the assets of Imran Khan and his front person Farah Gogi, she noted.
Imran Khan received prohibited foreign funds, indulged in money laundering of donations and did not declare his bank accounts, she maintained.
The minister remarked that when the SBP declared these accounts in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the PTI tried to attack the ECP and when any news that exposed their scandals and actions to the public, Imran Khan brought a narrative based on catastrophe and destruction.
She said that Farah Gogi was Imran Khan’s front person who looted Punjab relentlessly, and if anyone talked against her, Imran Khan got furious.
“During past four years, Bani Gala had become Money Gala”, as Imran Khan’s front persons followed his orders and plundered the national wealth mercilessly.
Deriding the PTI for its contradictory narratives about the no confidence motion, she said that on the one hand, they stated that there was a foreign conspiracy of regime change and on the other hand, they claimed that they already knew about the no confidence motion.
Marriyum said that even one spokesperson of the former PM Imran Khan had confessed that they laid the landmines for the economy as they knew that no confidence motion would be successful.
She said Imran Khan did not like that all the state institutions were on the same page and adopted a mutual position which was completely constitutional. His corruption scandals were surfacing everyday which showed as to how he sold the national interests in exchange of dimes.
Citing Imran’s recent corruption scandal worth Rs50 billion, she said the way he did loot and plunder was beyond the imagination of a layman. Imran did intervene in a deal between Malik Riaz, his family and the National Crime Agency just to make a commission and sell the national interest.
She said Imran’s front persons made billions of rupees in every development project implemented during the four-year rule of PTI.
Commenting on Imran’s plea to the apex court seeking permission for another long march, she said he, himself, committed contempt of the court on May 25 by giving a call to his workers for reaching to the D-chowk, Islamabad.
Marriyum said, Imran violated the apex court orders as he knew that it was hard for him to hold a small public gathering in a park near H-9 sector. “He did not have enough number to hold a ‘jalsi’ in Islamabad as we were monitoring his long march.”
She berated Imran Khan for drifting away from the Centaurus Chowk Islamabad by abandoning his workers.
The court could not give relief to a person who killed the policemen and spread chaos and anarchy by distributing batons and weapons among his workers, she maintained.
She said Imran wanted to give an impression with his foreign conspiracy narrative that the country’s premier intelligence agency did not have any idea about a plot against Pakistan.
In fact, the foreign conspiracy drama was itself a plot against the country which was part of Imran’s agenda which aimed to weaken every sector of the country including the economy.
Imran knew that he would face the consequences for his corruption, she said, lashing out at him for dragging the state institutions in his “dirty and false” politics.
She said Imran, being in power for the four years, had not only shaken the foundations of the country but also sold the Kashmir cause and increased poverty with extreme inflation.
She said no action was taken by Imran Khan against his own ministers who were kicked out of the Cabinet on the pretext of corruption scandals, especially those which were related to medicine, sugar and flour.
Marriyum said it was the coalition government which was clearing the mess left by Imran’s regime in the country by ruining the economy and increasing inflation and unemployment.
“We will not only clear the mess left by Imran’s government, but also bring economic stability in the country by working day and night,” she remarked.
She said the country would be chartered on the path of progress and prosperity so that such “devilish people” who played with the people’s problems and national interests for political gains would never be able to devastate the economy.
The minister said despite the difficult conditions of the IMF, the coalition government had given pro-people, and agriculture, business, IT and investment friendly budget. “Don’t play this dangerous play which brings collective destruction,” she advised Imran Khan.
Imran was rejected by the Parliament, she said, adding the people would definitely hold him accountable in next election of October, 2023 for his loot, corruption and plunder in COVID funds, tree plantation projects and others.
To a query, she said Imran cannot dictate any institution and government as all were working in line with the Constitution. “He can only dictate the mafia and cartels whose pockets were filled by him while being in power.”
Situation was extraordinary in the country, but the coalition government was determined to steer the country out of the crisis, she added.
As regards Nawaz Sharif’s statement about return of Pervez Musharraf, she said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader had shared his personal experience of the last four years during which he faced cases on the pretext of holding an Iqama.
She regretted that the political opponents of Nawaz Sharif even did politics on the ailment of his wife by weaving a false narrative. He returned to the country along with his daughter and went to jail where he received news of his wife’s death.
Nawaz Sharif paid personal cost for his country, she said, adding his statement was in this context which was based magnanimity.
She said the allies fully supported the government and owned the decisions taken by the federal cabinet. It was the first time in the country’s history that the government had representatives from across the country and collective decisions were being taken for the betterment of the country.
Marriyum asked Imran to wait for the next election when people would reject him for his corruption and loot.
As regards the energy conservation plan, she said many initiatives including Saturday weekly off were taken and several others were on the cards to save the fuel.
She said the people of Punjab were being deprived of the budget by Imran for personal gains. It was right of Punjab and should have been presented three days ago.
