KASUR: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan of the PML-N said as opposed to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s allegations, former army chief retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa did give an NRO, but to the PTI at a time when Mr Khan was contesting the Bani Gala property case.

He added that later, to strike a balance, disgruntled PTI leader Jehangir Tareen had to be disqualified. The SAPM was addressing an urgently called press conference here at a local hotel on Thursday at the same time as Imran Khan was delivering his own speech.

The PML-N is scheduled to hold a workers convention on Friday (today) at Khudian, the hometown of Malik Ahmad.

The PML-N leader questioned if his party was given an NRO, as alleged by the PTI chief, then why were its leaders implicated in criminal cases and sent to jails. He claimed that the PML-N told Gen Bajwa that Mr Khan would prove fatal for Pakistan and its political and economic structure, adding the former premier used the then army chief as a “punching bag”.

Regarding the supposed non-declaration of the Bani Gala assets, an aggressive Malik Ahmad claimed as per law the verdict in the case ought to be against the PTI chief, and asked him how the ruling eventually turned out in his favour. He also said the PTI chief had made parliament a joke as, during the party’s tenure, some government officials in uniform were running the affairs of parliament. He added Mr Khan could not get any legislation passed without “them” (the uniformed officials).

The PML-N leader further said the PTI chairman called out the former army chief for allegedly being a “traitor” when the establishment decided to remain out of politics. He also claimed Imran Khan sought the help of the establishment to save his government but they refused.

He further said the PTI’s stance regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voting rights for overseas Pakistan was a drama as the party had no plan to conduct such polling. He said he has had a meeting with 12 parliamentarians of the PTI regarding the use of EVMs and voting for expats, claiming they wanted to support the PML-N on the issue but were scared of ‘agencies’ for stopping them.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2022