PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said on Thursday that the opposition's planned no-trust motion against the government is "a risk that should be taken" since Prime Minister Imran Khan was "on his last legs".

Talking to reporters after appearing at the Islamabad High Court in the Avenfield Apartments case, Maryam was asked if Shehbaz Sharif would resign as PML-N president if the "no-confidence gamble" failed.

Maryam responded that she was hopeful of the move's success "because Imran is on his last legs and it's a risk that should be taken", adding that the messages sent by her party to disgruntled lawmakers were also applicable to the PML-N itself.

She did not elaborate on who she was referring to as "disgruntled" lawmakers or what messages were sent to them.

"If the opposition does not take a united stand here then we will be blamed for it. It's ultimately the public that we have to go back to at the time of elections."

Responding to a question on whether she supported another extension for the army chief, Maryam said "it's a premature question and we don't have any details before us".

PM should set same standards he wants for his wife for all women

Maryam also commented on the recent media reports on the premier's wife, saying Prime Minister Imran Khan must treat all women even-handedly and set the same standards he wanted for his wife for every woman.

Her remarks come two days after a statement given by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib calling out a report published in The Friday Times last week that suggested that First Lady Bushra Bibi was currently living at a friend's place in Lahore after developing differences with PM Imran Khan.

Without naming anyone, the minister had accused "some quarters" of pushing "fake stories" about the first lady and asked them to stay away from "cheap tactics such as dragging an apolitical woman into politics".

Maryam said the premier's wife was respectable to everyone, stressing that "the standards the prime minister wants for his wife should also have been shown for late Kulsoom Nawaz when she was fighting or her life at a hospital [in London]."

She alleged that some PTI activists had barged into the hospital just to take pictures of an ailing Kulsoom.

Also read: 'Unauthorised' man's entry into Kulsoom Nawaz's hospital room sparks alarm

The PML-N leader recalled that she would often face harassment, allegedly from PTI activists, outside her apartment in London. "Whenever I would leave my house to visit my mother at the hospital, some PTI activists who were stationed outside my residence used to hurl expletives at me in front of my son."

Maryam claimed PM Imran used to remain tight-lipped and felt "happy" when someone else's daughter was being sworn at.

Imran must learn to tolerate criticism

The PML-N said the nation would not forget what the prime minister "has done with journalists Asma Shirazi, Gharida Farooqi and Sana Bucha. You must set equal standards for all women and now you must have the courage to tolerate criticism."

She also condemned the treatment meted out to Islamabad-based media personality Mohsin Baig, claiming that "Imran had no problem when Baig was with him and now once he has criticised the PM, he [Baig] is being punished."

Maryam accused the prime minister of using the Federal Investigation Agency to gag a voice that opposed him.

She also lashed out at PM Imran for allegedly using the national exchequer to exact revenge from opponents in the name of accountability.

"The government led by Imran Khan spent its four years in suppressing political rivals and neglecting major public issues, for which he will be held accountable by the people of Pakistan," she said.

She also took exception to the prime minister for attending an Olympics ceremony in Beijing "at a time when soldiers were being martyred in Balochistan".