-Info Minister says diplomatic channels activated to ensure for Nawaz’s early repatriation
-Terms PDM leaders as ‘Banarsi Thugs’
-Slams opposition’s tactics to create conflict among institutions
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Wednesday said the government was employing optimum diplomatic channels to ensure early repatriation of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif from London.
Addressing a news conference, he said since there was no extradition treaty with the United Kingdom that was why the government had formally requested the UK authorities through the Pakistani ambassador in London to initiate the repatriation process of Nawaz Sharif, who had been declared an absconder by the court.
The minister said the past rulers had deliberately refrained from signing an extradition treaty with certain countries, including the UK, keeping in mind the option to escape in future to those states where they had stashed the looted national wealth and built palatial houses.
Referring to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Shibli Faraz said with the seating arrangements on stages during the public meetings, the PDM leaders seemed to be pursuing the modus operandi of ‘Banarsi Thugs’, who cheated the people with their opulent looks.
The masses had knowledge about their financial status prior to joining politics as how once bike riders did manage to become owners of land cruisers, he added.
Shibli said on the one hand a sinister alliance of opposition had emerged as the PDM just to befool the people with their lies and concocted stories and on the other, Prime Minister Imran Khan was striving hard to mitigate the financial woes faced by the masses. He said the prime minister fully believed in addressing the issues of downtrodden segments of the society by taking pro-poor initiatives.
Moreover, Speaking about the opposition’s stance over events surrounding the arrest of PML-N leader retired Capt Mohammad Safdar in Karachi on Monday, he said Pakistan was being “ridiculed globally” and Indian TV channels were showing images of opposition leaders.
“They (opposition) have tried to spark conflict among the institutions [and] are trying to create uncertainty and unrest. The people will hold them accountable for this,” the minister said.
He challenged the opposition’s claim that they were fighting for the people’s rights, saying the leaders “who used to ride bicycles now arrive in Land Cruisers and then talk about poor people”.
He condemned the “drama staged” at Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum by Safdar, saying that instead of denouncing it, the PPP had made it a political incident. Earlier this week, Safdar was arrested for raising slogans at the Quaid’s mausoleum before the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) second power show at Bagh-i-Jinnah.
Faraz said the manner in which the Sindh government reacted to Safdar’s arrest and the move later by PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to reportedly convince top Sindh Police officers to defer their leaves over the episode “shows that the Sindh government apparently played quite a sinister role” in the incident.
Answering a question, the minister cast doubts on PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s claim that police had broken their room’s door at their hotel in order to arrest Safdar. “In the video that I saw it appeared that he (Safdar) was standing in his house and the way he sat in the police van did not show that [any force had been used],” he said.
Referring to the newly launched anti-government movement, Faraz said the opposition had united under PDM’s banner to protect their interests. He went on to accuse opposition leaders of “trying to sabotage their future accountability”.
The minister accused opposition members of having said “shameful” things about women belonging to the government, saying even First Lady Bushra Imran “was dragged even though she is not a political personality”.
“They don’t realise which fire they are playing with.”
He also criticised Bilawal and Maryam over their statements following Safdar’s arrest, saying they had “inherited” their political position.
“Maryam thinks of herself as Benazir [Bhutto]. Benazir was a highly educated woman of class,” he said. “Only clothes, shoes and make-up will not cut it; if you talk about the people you will have to live like them.” Faraz said Prime Minister Imran Khan will not be deterred by the opposition’s movement, saying: “Our primary target is to rid Pakistan of these family parties.”
Safdar arrest saga
On Monday, PML-N leader Safdar, who was staying at a hotel with his wife Maryam, was arrested for “violating the sanctity of the Quaid’s mausoleum” a day after the PDM rally.
Following Safdar’s arrest, a purported voice message by PML-N leader and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair was shared by a journalist in which Zubair alleged that the inspector general of police was kidnapped and forced to register the first information report against Maryam, her husband Safdar and 200 others for violating the sanctity of the Quaid’s mausoleum.
In the audio clip circulating on Twitter, Zubair said that Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah confirmed to him that police was pressured into making the arrest. “When they (police) refused to do that, Rangers kidnapped [the IGP],” Zubair said.
Maryam had also alleged that the Sindh police chief was forcibly “taken to the sector commander’s office and asked to sign on the arrest orders”.
Chief Minister Shah told a presser on Tuesday afternoon that a ministerial committee would investigate the mysterious ‘circumstances’ that led to the early morning raid on Maryam’s hotel room and arrest of her husband, but defended the police action once an FIR had been lodged against him.
