• Says Maryam not being arrested due to respect for women
• Sehat Card Plus programme launched

SWAT: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, “like a jackal sitting in London, is trying to stir up a rebellion in the Pakistan Army by alleging it is involved in politics and calling for changing the Army and ISI chiefs”.

By doing so, he (Sharif) was “making India happy and proving himself one of the biggest enemies of Pakistan,” the PM said while addressing a public gathering at Grassy Ground in Mingora after launching the Sehat Card Plus programme for the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said Mr Sharif had run away from the country under the pretext of illness, adding that he was a “money worshipper” and had amassed his wealth by looting the country.

The prime minister said (PML-N vice president) Maryam Nawaz was also openly accusing the Army of interfering in politics. She was taking advantage of being a woman because women were given respect in Pakistan, he added.

“Nawaz Sharif and his sons cannot dare attack the Pakistan Army in the country and this is why they have fled abroad. Since Maryam Nawaz knows that we will not send her behind bars because she is a woman, she has started spewing venom against the Army,” he said.

He said every solider of the Pakistan Army had rendered sacrifices for the safety of the country and patriotic Pakistanis would never allow corrupt politicians to hurl allegations against the Army.

Rebuking the “corrupt political leaders who have gathered under the umbrella of the Pakistan Democratic Movement”, Mr Khan said a group of thieves and looters had gathered and was asking for NRO after looting the country.

“Two major political parties looted the country during the past 30 years but now it is decisive time to take action against the corrupt and looters,” he said.

The PM reiterated that he would never grant NRO to the politicians who had looted the country and if he did so it would be high treason with the country.

He said that Gen Pervez Musharraf had committed a mistake by granting NRO to the corrupt politicians, including Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, due to which the external debt of the country had increased manifold and now the PTI government was paying it back.

About provision of free health facilities to every person in KP through Sehat Card Plus programme, the PM said no other government could accomplish such an amazing deed, except the PTI administration, and the credit for it went to KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

“Now every family (from KP) can get Rs1 million for medical treatment anywhere in the country,” Mr Khan said.

For the first time in the country’s history, he said, the people would be able to have their own houses by paying their prices in instalments under the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

He said the PTI had founded a new Pakistan which was a replica of the model of the Madina state, where every citizen would be valued and would get justice. He said provision of free health facilities to every person in KP was the first step towards transforming Pakistan into the social welfare state of Madina.

“We have already introduced the uniform national curriculum in the country after which the child of poor and rich people will receive similar education,” he said. Court cases would be decided in one year in Naya Pakistan as the government had got the civil procedure act amended, he added.

PM Khan urged the youth to adopt the way of noble people and work hard for development of the country. “If you people follow the path of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), no doubt you will lead the country towards the state of Madina where humanity and rule of law prevailed,” he said, adding that due to the model of the Madina sate, the Muslims had ruled the world for centuries.

The prime minister said the new Pakistan founded by PTI would follow the Islamic principles of the state of Madina.

He said the fate of Swat would soon change due to construction of a motorway and promotion of tourism. “Swat will soon witness a wave of prosperity which it has never seen before, because of promotion of tourism. Tourism has the potential of bringing speedy prosperity in the country,” he said, adding that the promotion of tourism in KP would bring unprecedented benefits to the entire country.

Prominent among those who attended the public meeting were National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, federal Minister for Communication and Postal Services Murad Saeed, CM Mahmood Khan, KP Minister for Labour and Culture Shaukat Yousafzai, the MNAs and the MPAs.

Earlier, PM Khan along with the chief minister and others visited Gabin Jabba, a recently developed touristic spot.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2020