ISLAMABAD: While referring to a recent statement made by former National Assembly speaker and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ayaz Sadiq over the capture and subsequent release of the Indian pilot in February last year, Minister for Information and Broadcast Senator Shibli Faraz on Friday said the time to apologise for the remarks had passed and now the “law will take its course”.
Sadiq, while addressing a session of the lower house earlier this week, had claimed the government had released Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman — the Indian Air Force pilot who was captured in February last year after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down his intruding jet during a dogfight — in “capitulation”, fearing an “imminent attack” from India.
“The remarks by Ayaz Sadiq are beyond apology. Now the law will take its course,” Faraz tweeted.
ایاز صادق کی کہی ہوئی بات معافی سے آگے نکل چکی ہے۔اب قانون اپنا راستہ لے گا۔ریاست کو کمزور کرنا ناقابل معافی جرم ہے جس کی سزاایاز صادق اور ان کے حواریوں کو ضرور ملنی چاہیے۔
— Senator Shibli Faraz (@shiblifaraz) October 30, 2020
“Weakening the state is an unforgivable crime for which Ayaz Sadiq and his companions must be punished,” he added.
Responding to the claim, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Major General Babar Iftikhar held a press conference on Thursday to “set the record straight”, saying the Indian pilot was released only to “give peace another chance” and not for any other reason.
“The armed forces had given the enemy ‘a bloody nose, and it’s still hurting’,” Gen Iftikhar had said.
In a separate press conference later in the day, Faraz had demanded an “unconditional apology” from Sadiq over his remarks.
“His statement has only pleased Indians and they are exhilarated after what a person of high stature stated in the National Assembly,” he said.
The minister had said attaining a high position did not elevate anybody’s character and the statement given by the former speaker did not befit the responsibility he had been holding.
