Information and Broadcasting Minister Senator Shibli Faraz on Sunday strongly condemned the chant of ‘free Balochistan’ in the public meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying the anti-government alliance was reflective of the anti-state elements.
Speaking at a news conference, the minister pointed out that India, Israel and PDM was a triangle as one of the alliance members Shah Awais Noorani raised the slogan of ‘Free Balochistan’ from PDM stage in Quetta. The PDM narrative, he noted, was supportive of the elements hostile to Pakistan. He called India, Israel and PDM new ‘axis of evil’ to trigger unrest in the country.
The minister asserted that the statement being made by the PDM was in fact an attack on the country, and practical steps should and would be taken in this regard. He said the PDM had a one-point agenda to save the looted wealth.
Shibli calls out “Banarsi Thugs”
According to local media, Shibli said that “Banarsi thugs” have set their camp in Quetta. The minister emphasised that the focal point of PM Khan was to purge the country of corrupt elements, who had misused the state institutions for their own vested interests. “Prime Minister Imran Khan will not spare the country’s looters. Our direction is right and we would strengthen the state institutions,” he said.
Referring to the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Shibli said a person had targeted the Pakistan Army at a PDM meeting, but he forgot that it was the Army, which had made sacrifices and achieved success in the war on terror and saved Pakistan from becoming another Iraq or Syria. He added that a fugitive from the courts addressed the meeting.
Shibli made it clear that the convicted Maryam had no right to ask questions, as she herself had not answered one question as to how the London flats were purchased and how money from Pakistan reached there. “These are the people who if in power, then the institutions are right, otherwise the institutions are wrong. The institutions can’t give their judgements as per their wishes,” he emphasised.
The minister called on the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to ask his father as to why he snatched bread, clothes and shelter from people. “Talking about masses’ interest by Bilawal looks like a joke,” he remarked.
Maryam Nawaz flaunts the poster of a terror suspect whilst campaigning
https://twitter.com/KhurramDehwar/status/1320392736646844420?s=20
Rashid Baloch is a confirmed terrorist – Sindh police had announced last year the arrest by UAE authorities of a key man of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) who, they believe, facilitated the November 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi.
“Rashid Baloch alias Abdullah is not only the facilitator of the attack but also a key man of the BLA,” said DIG CTD Abdullah Sheikh.
Fawad Chaudhry calls out PDM’s anti-state agenda
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said the PDM leaders were carrying an anti-state agenda to appease the country’s enemies. Talking to local media, he said action should be taken against the PDM leaders who were mocking and attacking the national institutions, including judiciary and armed forces.
The minister termed the PDM public meeting in Quetta a flop show and abortive exercise against the government, adding there was no threat to the democratic system and the PTI would complete its constitutional term.
He said the difference of opinion with the government policies and programmes was part of the democratic set-up. The minister asked the PDM leaders why they were criticising the country’s institutions.
Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed said there were “celebrations in India” over the allegations made against Prime Minister Imran Khan “during the PDM circus. The campaign against Imran Khan is being celebrated in India and an international conspiracy was being hatched against Pakistan and Imran Khan,” Saeed said during a press conference in the federal capital.
He said, “Imran Khan can look in the eyes of global leaders while speaking to them. Imran Khan has never engaged in corruption. Imran Khan chose to risk the ire of great powers by speaking up about Palestine.”
“Indian planes were shot down and India faced embarrassment all over the world. India that wants to break Pakistan,” he said. “It is India that is the tyrant oppressing Kashmiris. It is India that is conspiring against Pakistan on every front. What is the reason that India has suddenly become worried?” he asked.
Read More: Why is Opposition united against PTI’s government?
“India is celebrating the allegations against Imran Khan in the PDM circus. Whenever India looked down on Pakistan, it faced embarrassment!” The minister lambasted the PML-N and its supremo for its allegedly “friendly relations” with India, saying: “Why is India loving Nawaz Sharif so much? What could be the reason for India’s love for Nawaz Sharif so much?
“India wants to blacklist Pakistan in the FATF. What was the reason that Kashmir was not discussed in the UN for 54 years? When Nawaz Sharif used to go to India, he did not meet the Hurriyat leaders. Did you gain or lose by not meeting the Hurriyat leaders?” he asked Nawaz.
Chohan calls out PDM’s disunity
Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan accused the various parties of the PDM of not being united. He spoke about PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari not attending Sunday’s rally, saying that the opposition leader chose to give more importance to the Gilgit-Baltistan elections.
He said that Bilawal was “being smart” while keeping his politics away from “Begum Safdar Awan” and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif. Chohan said the decision to not air Nawaz’s speech during the Karachi rally and not attending Sunday’s PDM public gathering was proof of Bilawal’s “political wisdom”.
The provincial minister said that the opposition’s ‘respect the vote’ slogan’s real meaning was “let me go to London”. He further said that the aim of Maryam Nawaz’s political struggle was only to protect personal interests. “Whether the opposition climbed K2 or Burj Khalifa, it would not get any concession on NRO and corruption,” he reiterated.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said the opposition parties have staged uproar in the garb of “giving respect to vote”. He said, “Prime Minister Imran Khan has given identity to South Punjab but the PML-N and the PPP usurped their right. The PPP and the PML-N chanted hollow slogans in their tenures for making South Punjab a province but practically did nothing in this regard.”
Buzdar added that the PTI government had set up the South Punjab Secretariat and now would carve out a province as well. He also strongly condemned a statement about the Balochistan chief minister.
“Jam Kamal is a respectable chief minister and those who criticised him should be ashamed of themselves. The Punjab government had immediately resolved the issue of Balochistan students but a woman tried to score political points on the issue as well. The Punjab government has started projects worth billions of rupees in Balochistan,” he added. He said that so-called leaders of the PDM tried to sabotage provincial harmony and brotherhood. “They are not leaders, neither today and nor tomorrow. This is a group of looters and the nation will not be deceived by this gang of thieves,” he concluded.