Marriyum Aurangzeb, the minister of information and broadcasting, flatly disallowed any dialogue with those calling for a “bloody march” on Saturday.
She claimed in a statement that Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), “does not want transparent elections but turmoil and bloodshed in the country.”
She said, “Imran Khan’s real face, his politics of falsehoods, and his fake character have been exposed.”
By “spreading the mental garbage on the streets,” she claimed, it is no longer possible to conceal the truth of “foreign-funded fitna.”
Before sending such a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the foreign-funded fitna should react to the damages’ notices (defamation cases) of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, she said.
She said that Imran Khan was a fugitive in the case filed by PM Shehbaz, which sought Rs. 10 billion in damages from the PTI leader for the previous five years.
She continued by saying that the Chief Election Commissioner was under threat because he refused to submit to the “foreign-funded fitna” and give him (Imran) an NRO.
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The minister said that the notice was sent because “the CEC has brought an obstinate, greedy, and arrogant man into the purview of law and caught Imran’s falsehoods and fraud red-handed.”
Marriyum claimed that Imran was apprehended by the CEC in Daska for kidnapping poll workers and snatching ballot bags.
Khawaja Asif, the defence minister, also rejected reports of talks with the PTI.
الیکشن انشاءاللہ آئینی وقت پہ ھونگے. سیاسی قوتوں کا قومی مسائل پہ مزاکرات اوراتفاق راۓ جمہوری مزاج کا حصہ ھے.جن مزاکرات کا PTI راگ الاپ رہی ھےانکاکوئی امکان نہیں.عمران خان سارے شوق پورے کر لیں. اسوقت بھارتی میڈیا انکو بھرپور سر پرستی اور air time دے رہا ھے اسکو انجوائے کریں.
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) October 29, 2022
“God willing, elections will take place at a constitutional period,” he promised. Democracy involves political parties coming to agreements and negotiations. The kind of negotiations that the PTI is making a fuss over, however, are not possible, he further added said.
“Let Imran Khan get anything he wants. Enjoy the full attention and airtime the Indian media is currently providing him,” he said.
Fawad Chaudhry, the PTI leader, has said that the government is not serious about talks.
“On the one hand, PTI workers are being arrested and the Haqeeqi Azadi March’s coverage is being restricted and, on the other hand, there is news of the formation of a frivolous committee,” he said.
حکومت کی مذاکرات کی دعوت کی خبریں غیر سنجیدہ ہیں،ایک طرف تحریک انصاف کے کارکنوں کو گرفتار کیا جا رہا ہے، #حقیقی_آزادی_مارچ کی کوریج پر پابندیاں ہیں دوسری طرف ایک غیر سنجیدہ کمیٹی کی تشکیل کی خبریں صرف آزادی مارچ کو انگیج کرنے کیلئے ہیں،یہ چالاکیاں نہیں چلنی انتخاب کی تاریخ دیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) October 29, 2022
“These are tricks to only engage the Azadi March, and they won’t work,” Fawad added, demanding a date for the general election.