Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik on Monday stated that Pakistan did not benefit from the PTI “project”, arguing that it aimed to destroy the country.
In a blistering press conference on Friday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry assailed PTI founder and ex-premier Imran Khan for creating and spreading an “anti-army” rhetoric, stating that such narratives were now out of the realm of politics and had become a “national security threat”.
The PTI emphatically deplored the “ridiculous” remarks by the military spokesperson, saying the party founder was “not a security threat” and lamented the weakening of democracy in the country following the passage of recent constitutional amendments.
Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, the minister highlighted that during its tenure, the PTI government “ran a campaign against the country, writing to the IMF and lobbying US politicians”.
“Has the PTI taken a single beneficial step for Pakistan?” Malik asked, further questioning what development projects are underway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the party is running the provincial administration.
“When it comes to sovereignty and national security, we (PML-N) have never compromised,” he added. “There is a night and day difference between the policies of the PTI and the PML-N.”
Malik pointed out that Imran himself claimed, when he was in power, that the army chief was akin to the “father of the nation” and that nobody could speak out against him.
“Look at what Imran Khan is saying on Twitter,” he added, referring to posts against Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir.
“I can say that the youth have introspected and found that countries cannot progress on hollow words, hollow promises and pure popularity,” Malik added.
“I am not denying that there are questions around the 2024 general elections, but did Nawaz Sharif write any letters to the IMF? Was he involved in foreign lobbying?”
Later, PTI Chief Whip in the National Assembly Amir Dogar joined the programme and was asked about allegations labeling Imran a “security threat” by senior political and military leadership.
“Who is (Information Minister) Atta Tarar to say these things about us?” Dogar replied. “He is a Form 47 politician who has only 16,000 votes, and now he’s lecturing the party of the country’s legitimate leader.”
“No power can stop Imran Khan. They cannot stop us from speaking or protesting. We have endured so much over the past three years. What more can they do to us?”
Dogar then highlighted how PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif gave interviews to Indian journalists and asked whether those would be forgotten.
In response to a question about the PTI founder being called a security threat, Dogar said, “This is unfortunate and has been going on for 75 years. Fatima Jinnah, the mother of the nation, was once declared a security risk by Ayub Khan.”
He also cited the examples of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman being deemed a security threat by Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto being declared a security threat by Ziaul Haq, stating that the country’s most popular leaders have been targeted throughout Pakistan’s history.
“Where did all these people — Yahya, Ayub Khan — go? Political figures return in some way or another, because ideas never die,” Dogar stated.
“Under this hybrid system, Pakistan’s future has been imprisoned. Read the Hamoodur Rahman Commission; the situation is similar.”
Imran’s social media ‘not under’ party’s control
When questioned about Imran’s social media accounts, Dogar noted that the account is not under the party’s control, nor is it under Imran’s.
“Even today, in a parliamentary committee meeting, we agreed that messages from Imran in jail should not be disseminated like a vlogger outside the prison gates,” he said. “The party realises that we need to do whatever we can to ensure the release of our leader and workers.”
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, while talking to media, said that Dogar’s statement had been misunderstood.
“He meant that there were several young members in the social media team, but after the crackdown they left the country and are now operating their accounts on their own,” he said.
Responding to a question, he said that whenever a leader or family member meets Imran Khan, the message is written on a piece of paper and then sent abroad, after which it is tweeted as it is.
“The messages are sent directly abroad and then tweeted. They are not issued through the party’s media wing, so the media wing has nothing to do with them,” he added.
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