Ahsan Iqbal accuses PM Imran of ‘attacking’ judiciary during a telethon

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal Monday accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of ‘attacking’ the judiciary during a telethon on Sunday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Speaking outside the accountability court (AC) in Islamabad, he said that Imran Khan’s hunch was that he was unable to fulfil his mission because the judiciary was not cooperating with him. “Imran wants the courts to cram the opposition leaders into jails despite the fact that no corruption reference has so far been filed in the courts with concrete evidence,” he opined.

He appealed to the media to show hearing of corruption cases live so that truth could be separated from falsehood.  

Ahsan regretted that the country had sunk deep into the mire of loans. “Imran borrowed more loans in the last two years than what we had borrowed in our entire tenure,” he said, and added, “Imran borrowed loans to bridge the deficit.  Since then our financial autonomy is at stake. This was the trap our enemies had laid for us. And now in lieu of these loans, we have put the autonomy of our institutions at stake.”

PML-N leader questioned as to which were the projects, which the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government had initiated in its tenure. “These are the projects launched when PML-N was in power, which are being completed now. The truth of the matter is that even still the present government has failed to complete most of the projects initiated in our era,” he claimed.  

Ahsan asked as to who was responsible for Imran Khan’s ‘incompetence’. “Three years have passed and the ‘selected’ prime minister has failed to find a finance minister,” he bemoaned.

He taunted Prime Minister Imran Khan for claiming that he had a ‘dream team’ to run the country. “This is the ‘dream team’ that you have gathered around you. These are all turncoats,” he added.

The PML-N leader appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take notice of an allegation levelled against him of receiving Rs70 billion in kickbacks on the Sukkur-Multan motorway. “If I have received the kickback, take action against me; or otherwise stop my character assassination,” he stated emphatically.  

Ahsan was of the view that Imran Khan could not hide his ‘incompetence’ by levelling baseless charges against his political opponents.

He regretted that the PTI government had slashed the budget allocated for the Higher Education Commission. “This government is ruining the country by destroying each and every institution,” he alleged.

PML-N leader wondered as to when those who brought PTI to power would say, “Enough is enough.”

He opined that if all opposition parties had gathered on one platform, the present government could not last even 10 days. “Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is alive, and is continuing its mission,” he said, and added, “The goal this alliance of opposition parties has set for itself is to run the country in the light of the constitution.”