ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said that the alliance of opposition parties is based on vested interests and a lust for power.
In a series of tweets on Friday, the information minister referred to a recent statement of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, wherein the latter talked about Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif’s speech at Gujranwala rally of the anti-government alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
Faraz said that Bilawal has shown his distrust of Nawaz. He said that it also shows that they do not pursue a single narrative.
In another tweet, Faraz said that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) have rejected the hollow narrative of the opposition. He said that the successful public meetings of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in GB and public support show public confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and suggest the party’s electoral victory.
The minister said that to include GB in the national mainstream for development is the premier’s vision and promise.
Separartely, while addressing rumours about the privatisation of state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV), Faraz categorically rejected the reports. The minister, in a statement, said that PTV is being restructured as per the vision of PM Imran.
“The reports regarding PTV’s privatisation are unfounded,” he stated in clear terms. He added the government is in the process of hiring new board members to run the organisation.
It is noteworthy that a list of 19 state-owned entities to be privatised was presented in the Senate recently.
The state-owned entities likely to be privatised included Roosevelt Hotel in New York owned by Pakistan International Airlines, Balloki power plant, Haveli Bahadur Shah power plant, SME Bank, First Women Bank, Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan Engineering Company, Services International Hotel, Jinnah Convention Centre, Mari Petroleum, Nandipur power plant, State Life Insurance Corporation, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum Limited and Giddu power plant.
