ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Wednesday that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s own people had exposed the Panama conspiracy.

Speaking at a press conference, she mentioned that the characters responsible for the conspiracy had led the country into multiple crises by imposing an incompetent and inefficient person at the helm of affairs.

The minister said that the solution of Pakistan’s problems resided solely with Nawaz Sharif, who had served thrice as prime minister.

“During the Nawaz Sharif era, the economy was stabilised, and he presented the people with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC] as a gift,” she said, adding that a great injustice had been done to the person who had rendered great service to the nation as prime minister.

Says imposition of incompetent leader caused multiple crises; claims only Nawaz Sharif can resolve country’s problems

Taking a jibe at former prime minister Imran Khan, she said the shadowy figures and characters who are burning the country today, were the same individuals who stood on the container to halt the CPEC projects in 2013-14.

Ms Aurangzeb said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mr Sharif was disqualified under a conspiracy when the Panama verdict was changed to Iqama.

During the press conference, she played a video clip of Hamid Khan, a senior PTI leader and legal expert, who stated on a private TV channel that it seemed the decision to disqualify Mr Sharif in the Iqama case was made elsewhere.

The minister added that similar statements were made by former interior minister and senior PTI leader Syed Ijaz Shah, who had no affiliation with the PML-N. She further asserted that Mr Sharif was removed as prime minister through a conspiracy, which resulted in immense suffering for the country and its people.

The present regime was also striving to overcome unemployment, load-shedding and terrorism which hit the country during Mr Khan’s tenure, she added.

The minister said that CPEC was a gift to the region from the leadership of Pakistan and China and it was the vision of PML-N leader Mr Sharif and President Xi Jinping of China.

The CPEC project played a key role in the development of Pakistan in every sector from 2013 to 2018. As soon as the CPEC project began, elements conspiring against Pakistan’s development were mobilised, she said.

In reference to Mr Khan’s criticism of the recent IMF deal, she said that the present government did not sign this programme. She added that it was the PTI regime that signed, violated, and ultimately suspended it for political gains last year. She said it was strange that the person who had led the country into multiple crises was now raising questions about the IMF deal and inflation.

She said the revival of the IMF programme was also a question of Pakistan’s credibility, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had worked hard for this purpose.

She said that July 5 marked the martyrdom anniversary of Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed. Additionally, she said it was also the day that marked the completion of 10 years since the launch of the CPEC, a transformative project envisioned by Mr Sharif and Chinese President Xi.

Due to the incompetence of the previous government, many crises, including energy shortages, had arisen in the country, she maintained.

Responding to questions from media persons, she said the government did not believe in political victimisation, and Mr Khan was facing cases for his crimes.

She pointed out that if the government had intended to arrest Mr Khan, it could have done so 14 months ago.

The minister said no one can fool the people for an extended period, and the international media had come to realise that Mr Khan’s narrative was a pack of lies.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023