During her Jalsa in Sargodha, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close friend Salman Iqbal, the owner of ARY News, is a gold smuggler.
She accused Khan of giving him a benefit of up to 40 billion rupees when he was in power and waving off 10 to 14 billion rupees of tax.
The PML-N leader claimed that Khan gave him a world call of 4 billion rupees without regulation, adding that both of them are protecting each other because they’re both thieves.
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She abused the media, whom she credited for “making him what he is today”.
ARY’s Senior Executive Vice President Ammad Yousaf condemned Maryam Nawaz’s allegation.
Taking to Twitter, he said, “ARY management strongly condemns Maryam Nawaz’s allegations and threats to ARY News in her Jalsa, As a news channel it is our duty to report facts regardless of anyone’s likes or dislikes. This is incitement and as a result if any of our workers is attacked FIR will be lodged against her.”
ARY Mgmt strongly condemns Maryam Nawaz's allegations and threats to ARY News in her Jalsa, As a news channel it is our duty to report facts regardless of anyones likes or dislikes. This is incitement & as a result if any of our worker is attacked FIR will be lodged against MNS
— Ammad Yousaf (@AmmadYousaf) May 19, 2022
Meanwhile, ARY’s Bureau Chief Lala Asad Pathan said ARY stands with the ideological basis and institutions of the country. He said Maryam Nawaz is trying to incite the public against the channel in her jalsas, if any harm is inflicted upon any worker of ARY, an FIR will be registered against Maryam Nawaz.
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Tensions have been high between ARY and the new PML-N government since it was elected.
Two days ago, ARY news shared former Governor Sindh Imran Ismail’s tweet against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, claiming that he had ordered to renovate the swimming pool inside the PM’s house with a hefty amount of 70 million rupees.
He wrote, “The country is near bankruptcy but the Prime Minister has spent Rs70 million on the renovation of a swimming pool.”
Denying the news, Maryam Nawaz said, “PEMRA and government must take immediate action against ARY. ARY & Imran, both should be dealt with like Fitnas.”
It has to be ARY. PEMRA & government must take immediate action against ARY. ARY & Imran, both should be dealt with like Fitnas. https://t.co/2qp3f9WFiu
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) May 17, 2022
In a Tweet, she said, “ARY has crossed all limits of not only yellow but gutter journalism. It has become a mouthpiece of PTI. They should consider quitting journalism & formally joining PTI. PMLN should boycott the smugglers aka ARY & expose their ugly face.”