People to decide on social media drive against PM: minister | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

People to decide on social media drive against PM: minister

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday said that the people would decide about the vilification campaign against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family on social media.

She slammed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for running a vilification campaign against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family in an effort to influence the Supreme Court’s decision in the Panama Papers case.

Addressing a news conference along with the PML-N leader Daniyal Aziz, the minister said that unlike the PTI and its leaders, the prime minister had uttered not a single word in his speeches that could be termed an attempt to influence the court verdict.

On the other hand, the PTI had mounted a big campaign on social media in that regard. She said that over the past two weeks, the PTI had been running documentaries, videos and other material on social media to malign the Sharif family.

The minister said that for the PTI, there would be triumph of law only if the court verdict went in its favour. She lamented that the PTI had also launched a negative campaign against state institutions.

She reminded the PTI leadership that the heads of the state institutions like the Election Commission of Pakistan were appointed according to the procedure laid down in the Constitution, which required consultation with the opposition parties, including PTI.

Marriyum Aurangzeb also reminded the PTI leaders that it was Nawaz Sharif who personally wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan seeking a probe into the Panama Papers issue. During the hearing of the case, she said, the prime minister did not seek privileges and exemptions given to him by the Constitution.

Recounting the achievements made by the present government since it came into power in 2013, she said the economy was on the brink of collapse. But now it had been fully stabilised and the robust growth of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which was now being rated as the fastest growing in Asia, was a testimony to that achievement, he added.

PTI continued to create falsehoods and impotent narratives to discredit Nawaz Sharif and malign members of his family. They would be better advised to focus on some of the lessons they could learn from PM’s administration and replicate them in the KP province to bring relief to the province and positivity to their discourse.

“A few of those lessons can be launch of the transparent NFC, water distribution in country, motorway projects, Pakistan’s first healthcare programme, Pakistan education reform, census after 19 years as the previous census was conducted in 1998, and Pakistan’s first national internal security policy.

She said Nawaz Sharif had taken revolutionary steps for the development of infrastructure in the country like motorways. Under the dynamic leadership of Nawaz Sharif, she said the energy crisis was being overcome and terrorism was being stamped out from the country.

“Nawaz Sharif’s objective is to serve the people and to put Pakistan on the path to progress and development,” he said. She said that the achievements of the present government had been acknowledged and recognised by the international media and international surveys had described Nawaz Sharif as the most popular leader of Pakistan.

She said the opposition, particularly the PTI had launched a vilification campaign against Sharif family as it was unnerved over the progress Pakistan had made under Nawaz Sharif’s leadership.

She said it was unfortunate that the opposition was targeting the prime minister despite the fact that his name never figured in the Panama Papers. Moreover, she said, the opposition miserably failed to produce a single document in support of its allegations in the Supreme Court against prime minister and his family.

The minister said that Pakistan Muslim League-N would accept whatever decision was announced by the Supreme Court as prime minister himself had stated this on several occasions.

Commenting on media trial of Maryam Nawaz on social media, she said that on the one hand, it was said that women should be respected but at the same time daughter of the prime minister was being targeted in a way which was never done towards mothers and daughters and it demonstrated their double standards.

“Status of Maryam Nawaz will be decided by the people of Pakistan,” she added. She said that Maryam Nawaz launched the first healthcare programme of Pakistan and introduced reforms in 422 schools of Islamabad and began the first youth programme of Pakistan.

She said despite all the conspiracies and negative campaign on social media, Supreme Court would give decision according to the law and constitution. To a question, she clarified that prime minister had stated that he would accept decision of the Supreme Court in Panama Papers. She said that the way PTI insulted every institution of the country, was unfortunate and condemnable.

She said if action was be started against those who were involved in baseless and false propaganda to defame the prime minister on social media, it would be dealth as per cyber crime laws and it should not be termed political victimisation.

She said that the campaign targeting Nawaz Sharif was an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty as it strengthened country’s enemies, who did not want progressive and terror free Pakistan. PML-N leader Daniyal Aziz said a campaign had been started to influence the decision of the Supreme Court through media and attack PML-N.

He said that aim of Imran Khan was not seeking justice but he wanted to gain political advantage from Panama Papers case. Daniyal said Pakistan PTI always tried to dictate the constitutional institutions.

At one time, PTI threatened to boycott proceedings of the Supreme Court, in case a commission was made on Panama Papers. Daniyal said during proceedings of the Supreme Court, PTI had to take back its evidence as its lawyers were censured by the judges.

Name of Nawaz Sharif was never mentioned in the Panama Papers and Maryam Nawaz was not dependent on her father, he mentioned. “Minds of the people are being poisoned and PTI is degrading the institutions,” he said adding PTI was indulging in negative politics.

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