Brushes aside vendetta against PTI chief
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that the behaviour of former ousted prime minister Imran Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is unethical, undemocratic and fascist and the government will not allow Pakistan to become hostage to politics of demagoguery.
Briefing the foreign media about prevailing political situation of the country in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Planning Minister said Pakistan is a democratic country and if Imran Khan feels that he has been unfairly arrested, he can prove his innocent before the court of law.
The Minister said it is not a democratic way to resort the people to violence, cause destruction in the country and its economy besides trying to bring bad image to the country internationally.
Ahsan Iqbal categorically said that Imran Khan will not face any political vendetta or political victimization. He said Imran Khan is spreading chaos in the society, but was ousted not through any conspiracy, but for the first time in the history of the country, a Prime Minister was removed through a constitutional method of no-confidence.
Ahsan Iqbal said no civilized society could tolerate this kind of behaviour, lawlessness and anarchy. “So the law has to take its course, and those indulged in these activities will be taken to the task. I assure you there is no political vendetta or victimization behind Imran’s arrest that was made under a lawful legal warrant.”
He clarified that the arrest was made under an arrest warrant duly examined by the Islamabad High Court that declared the custody in line with the ‘proper legal procedures and lawful authority.’
But unfortunately, Ahsan Iqbal said, the response that was given by the followers of Imran Khan brought great embarrassment for him and the party. “The scenes that came on the media of loot and plunder are most deplorable because Imran had been championing throughout his career that he stands for the rule of law. He (the PTI chairman) had been lecturing the people of Pakistan that what is the rule of law in the Western democracies.”
The minister said the PTI workers showed examples of the worst fascist response that was ever witnessed in the country’s history, adding “This is the worst kind of demagoguery and fascism that is being demonstrated by a leader whose rise to fame was sports.
As a sportsman, he ought to be championing sportsman spirit, tolerance and respecting the rule of law.”
Contrary to it, he said, Imran Khan chose the path of spreading anarchy, chaos and destruction in the country only to protect himself from accountability.
The minister reminded that the PTI chairman said on a number of occasions that if there was any case against him, he would voluntarily present himself before the authorities for investigation. “This case, in which Khan has been arrested by NAB, is a matter of graft, embezzlement and corruption of £160 million (Approximately Rs 60 billion).
