ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday declared the next general elections would be held on the scheduled constitutional time despite bullying, threats, abuses and intimidation attempts by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
Talking to the media, she said Imran Khan “should do what he wanted to do,” adding that the government would have no effect and remain indifferent to the supposed pressure-deploying tactics of the PTI chief.
She said, “Imran’s long, short, jump or walk march will make no difference.”
“On May 25, armed miscreants were caught who wanted bloodshed,” she said while referring to the initial abortive long march held in May by the PTI, this year.
Celebrations were made in India following Imran Khan’s threats to the national institutions, Marriyum said.
Commenting on a slew of audio recordings leaked in recent days, the minister remarked that it had badly flopped Imran’s conspiracy narrative related to the latter’s government ouster.
Imran Khan should respond to the notice of damages given by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in defamation cases, she added.
“There was always an option of negotiations in politics, but talks are held with politicians, not with foreign-funded fitna, who is roaming on the streets,” she said.
“There will be no negotiations with those who wanted to achieve their political ambitions by causing deaths through bloody march,” the minister made it clear.
“Should there be negotiations with those who play with the country’s interests,” she further remarked.
LIVE #APPNews : Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting @Marriyum_A addressing Press Conference #Islamabad
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Slamming the PTI chief over the alleged dismal performance of his government, the minister said that he [Imran] had not even discussed his four-year performance to this day.
“A person (Imran) tried his best to bankrupt the country economically in his 4-year rule,” the minister said, adding that “Imran should utter only one sentence about his performance or share the details about any public welfare project he had initiated in his tenure,” the minister said while castigating the PTI chairman.
Showing her concerns over any untoward incident that may happen in Punjab, she said that Imran and his provincial government would be held responsible for any horrific incident[God Forbid].
She said the country would progress if every institution works within its constitutional limits.
“Imran Khan used Zakat money to forward his political agenda. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) had handed this undeserving person a prosperous Pakistan in 2018. However, the projects delayed in the last four years are being restarted,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, citing the World Bank report, she said it may take ten years to repair the damage caused by the flood, adding that Imran wanted to cause further “submersion” to the already flood-hit country.
“Imran Khan is still afraid of Nawaz Sharif, the PML(N) supremo, who made this country a nuclear power, built motorways and improved the economy,” the minister added.
The coalition government in collaboration with national institutions had successfully completed relief and rescue operations in flood-hit areas and was now all set to enter into the rehabilitation phase, the minister apprised.
She also appreciated the role of all departments and institutions to help in successful completion of rescue and relief operations in flood-affected areas
She said on the one hand the government was striving for the revival of the country’s economy and its diplomatic relations with the rest of the world while on the other side “PTI chairman is busy promoting chaos and anarchy”.
The minister alleged that Imran Khan was “pursuing his unfinished agenda of destabilizing the country” at a time when the country was facing unprecedented economic challenges in the wake of historic floods.
According to recent reports from the World Bank, these floods inflicted an estimated loss of thirty billion US dollars to the economy, the minister said.
