PESHAWAR, Jul 11 (APP): Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday said once desperate for probe into the purported cipher related to the regime change, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was now vehemently opposing investigations into multiple cases, including the Toshakhana theft, foreign funding, and Al-Qadir Trust case.

Addressing a news conference, the minister said the PTI chairman created a fake narrative by waving the so-called cipher during his last address to a public gathering in Islamabad as prime minister just to give an impression that he was ousted from power as the result of a regime change operation.

Ironically, he was the only prime minister in the country’s history who was removed from his office through a no-confidence motion, she added.

She said he created hype of the so-called conspiracy, based on the cipher, and and blamed the former army chief for that at first place and eventually shifted its to acting Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

“Today, this person is pleading before the courts to halt the trial in the prohibited funding case and asserting that he did not know what was inside the closed envelop which had 190 million pounds and brought up before his cabinet for approval,” she remarked.

The minister said the PTI chief was opposing investigations into the Toshakhana theft and wanted his military secretary at that time to answer before the court.

“He received the gifts from the Toshakhana and sold them then why the military secretary should be held accountable?” the minister questioned.

On the other hand, she said, the three times prime minister (Nawaz Sharif) had faced the courts courageously and proved all the allegations against him wrong.

The people knew that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had done nothing wrong and had answers against all the allegations hurled against them by the PTI chief, she added.

“We have never hid ourselves in canister or boxes, nor we ran away from accountability,” the minister maintained.

Recalling lofty promises made by the previous government with the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Marriyum said they once claimed to transform the KP into Switzerland, but ironically the provincial accountability commission was rendered dysfunctional during their tenure.

“They (PTI) leveled allegations of theft against others, but they themselves turned out to be thieves. They promised to build universities and hospitals but did not even construct a single room in any hospital during their government tenure,” she regretted.

She asserted that the PTI got stay order from the apex court in the BRT Peshawar corruption case and made all-out efforts to stop probe into the matter.

The minister said the PTI vowed to construct 350 dams in the country, but in fact, its leaders – “a gang of looters” made the people “dam fool”.

She said the PTI’s “arsonists” burnt the martyrs’ memorials, ambulances, schools and hospitals on May 9, and “I am confident that the respectable people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will never vote for this Fitna and plotter”.

The people of Pakistan did not vote him (PTI chief) to burn Pakistan, instead the PTI was given the mandate for development of the country, she added.

She pointed out that the “foreign agent” responsible for masterminding the May 9 tragedy had recently tweeted, asking who benefited from the mayhem.

“Only the enemies of the country benefitted from the acts of vandalism and arson,” the minister claimed.

Marriyum said those who set the PTV on fire and attacked the Radio Pakistan as well. They set ablaze the building of Radio Pakistan, parked vehicles there and above all its precious archives, she added.

The minister said she had instructed the management of Radio Pakistan to display all the details related to the attack on its building in the internal corridors of the building so that the people could always remember how the national asset fell victim to the dirty politics of a “foreign agent”.

Upon the prime minister’s directives, she said, the task of redecorating and embellishing the building of Radio Pakistan was commenced on war-footing while the broadcast duration of PTV had also been increased in response to the long-standing desire of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Pakistan Television (PTV) would broadcast its programmes in regional languages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa around the clock, she added.

She said the PTV broadcast could be accessed worldwide through satellite, enabling overseas Pakistanis especially those from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to watch PTV programmes on their TV screens.

It would provide an opportunity to artists, producers, and journalists to sensitize the people about their culture and stance on different national and international issues, she added.

The minister congratulated the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the initiative and lauded the efforts of Secretary Information Sohail Ali Khan, PTV management, and the ministry’s team in that regard.

She said all journalists were allowed to express their stance on PTV screens.

As regards the news item published in Friday Times about Azam Chaudhry, she said the story was published without taking the government’s point of view, which was unprofessional and fell short of journalistic ethics and standards.

She urged the media to publish both sides’ views which was imperative for issuing a complete story on an issue. Otherwise, it was tantamount to fake news, misinformation and disinformation.

Marriyum said Azam Chaudhry was neither a Pakistan Television Corporation employee nor had ever been so. He had only been a member of an issue-based analysts pool for PTV, and he had neither been removed from the pool nor was asked to quit it, she added.

The views and opinions of the said journalist were known to the government at the time he was invited to the press conference, she remarked.

“If the government wanted to suppress his voice or questions, he would not have been invited and given an opportunity to ask questions. The prime minister answered his questions in detail,” she said.

The minister said unlike the previous PTI regime and its “fascist” PM, who was declared a “Press Freedom Predator” by the Reporters Without Borders, PM Shehbaz and the present government firmly believed in the freedom of media.

The PTI government used to only allow selected reporters and journalists to its “fascist” PM’s press conferences, she remarked.

She said Azam Chaudhry was a respected journalist and everyone had the right to express his or her opinion freely but no law permitted anyone to spread fake news.

The PTV had never published any fake news, but today every channel was spreading misinformation about the national TV, she said while recalling the government tenure of PTI when the freedom of expression was stifled, and programmes were abruptly discontinued.

She said the present government would complete its constitutional term, and elections would be held after it.

She questioned that how would the elements involved in the May 9 vandalism and arson in the country and halting of CPEC project would face the people in the general elections.

She said Pakistan was moving forward on road to progress and prosperity during the government of Nawaz Sharif, however the policies of past government negatively impacted the development process.

The minister said the party that claimed to abide by the principles of justices violated the laws, set ablaze the official buildings, targeted the military installations and desecrated the martyrs’ monuments on May 9.

That party was voted to power for the country’s development not to damage the national assets, she added.

Marriyum said the present government was promoting tolerance, harmony and progress in the country and taking pragmatic steps to reduce the dependency of the country on foreign loans.

She said tangible measures are being taken to promote IT, agriculture sectors, improve exports and revive the economy.

She said the government was fully aware of the inflation and burden on the common man and attributed it to the ill planned policies of the past government.

However, instead of blaming anyone the present government was focusing foreign policy and development of the country, she added.

The minister said it was possible for the government to arrest PTI chief for his corruption on the very day he was ousted from the power but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif prioritized revival of economy and to steer the country out of crises.

She praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for successfully keeping all the 14 political parties united under the platform of PDM and running the affairs of the government in consultation with coalition partners. He was in close contact with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other political leaders.

She said those who blamed and targeted Muhammad Nawaz Sharif were now acknowledging his political acumen and sincerity to the country.

To a suggestion, she assured to take up inclusion of journalists in the laptop and BISP schemes with the prime minister, adding the outstanding payments to journalists were now being paid.

The minister said the PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif would soon return to country and participate in the general elections.

She said all the political parties in Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would contest the general elections according to their own manifestos and the next prime minister would be elected by the people of the country.