Maryam chides own govt over ‘leeway to Imran’

 

• PML-N leader says PTI chief should have been ‘behind bars by now’
• Sana says cipher issue to be taken to parliament to initiate Article 6 proceedings against ex-PM

LAHORE:Maryam Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), expressed her displeasure with the Shehbaz Sharif-led government on Saturday for failing to arrest former Prime Minister Imran Khan despite a "litany of charges" that "merited his detention" a long time ago.


Ms Sharif, speaking at a press conference in Lahore alongside Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and other ministers, lashed out at the "system" for not sending the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief to prison despite numerous cases against him. 

 "I am still saddened that you are free to roam in Pakistan," she said after listing a number of charges against Imran Khan.
The former premier's daughter expressed disappointment in her government and party leadership for failing to imprison the PTI chairman despite "glaring" allegations, including alleged manipulation of the controversial cypher.


"It is time to shake Pakistan's and the government's collective wisdom...


"Come to your senses and punish him accordingly," Ms Nawaz advised her government.
She went on to say that Imran Khan would be someone's blue-eyed boy, but the coalition government does not think so. 

The PML-N leader's press conference was quickly followed by the issuance of a "bailable" warrant for the arrest of the PTI chairman in the case registered against him following a rally on August 20 in F-9 Park, Islamabad.
In the aforementioned case, the PTI chief is accused of criminal intimidation and violating Section 144, among other things.


Ms Sharif stated during the press conference that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told her that no country in the world was ready to talk to Pakistan and that their envoys were afraid to write letters because of Imran Khan, who allegedly manipulated the cypher sent by then-envoy to the US.
"No country in the world is willing to trust Pakistan simply because of a written letter." 

Furthermore, she advised the federal government to conduct a raid on Imran Khan's Bani Gala residence in connection with a copy of the cypher that had gone missing from the Prime Minister's House record.


Ms Nawaz stated in Khan's leaked conversation that his words "I will play with this" should be chosen to understand his over two decades of politics.
"Previously, Imran Khan collaborated with retired Lt Gen Shuja Pasha and Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, both former ISI chiefs."
He is playing with the country and its economy," she said, referring to Imran Khan's "coach," an indirect reference to one of the establishment's top men. 

In response to a question about extending the tenure of the incumbent army chief, she stated that the ISPR DG had already stated that Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was not interested in seeking an extension.
"How dare Imran Khan speak about the army chief's appointment?"
"He (Imran) had already attempted to sow discord in the ranks of the army with the appointment of the DG ISI, and then his chief of staff Shahbaz Gill incited the young army officers," she claimed. 

Article 6 proceedings

According to the interior minister, the federal government has also announced that it will bring the "cypher controversy" to parliament in order to pave the way for the initiation of action against Imran Khan under Article 6, which pertains to high treason.


"This matter (the leaked informal conversation between Imran Khan and other Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders about the 'US cypher plot') will be brought before the parliament."
"I hope that after a debate on this, parliament will decide to refer Imran Khan under Article 6," Rana Sanaullah said during the press conference.


Sanaullah made the announcement in response to Ms Nawaz's strongly worded statements against Imran Khan.
Mr Sanaullah agreed with the PML-N vice president, saying, "I think Madam Maryam Nawaz sahiba has raised a valid point."

 Ishaq Dar declared that the government now had evidence against Imran and his associates and that failing to prosecute the PTI leadership would be a breach of constitutional and national duty.
"In this regard, the National Security Committee and federal cabinet meetings have been held, and it is not possible that we should not lay hands on him (Imran) for political reasons," he added.