ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has expressed serious concerns over the alleged intimidation of the judiciary by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and decided to make every effort to counter the government’s move to put pressure on the joint investigation team (JIT) probing money-laundering charges against the Sharif family.

PTI chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday presided over a meeting of the party at his Banigala residence in which the party leadership reviewed and critically analysed the overall political situation in the country in the wake of ongoing investigations against the Sharif family by the Supreme Court-appointed JIT.

According to an official handout released by the party’s Central Media Department, the PTI leaders also expressed serious concerns over “the government’s alliance with a media house in an attempt to malign and vituperate the Supreme Court”.

“In pursuing these obnoxious objectives, the ruling party has the backing of a specific media group and its so-called intellectuals. Spitting venom against JIT and judiciary is a part of a vicious plan,” it says.

The meeting also shed light on JIT’s probe into Sharif family’s offshore assets and “the impediments placed by the ruling party in order to hinder fair accountability process”.

Moreover, it says that the PTI has also “assessed the vile attempts of the ruling party and the Sharif family to create chaos in the country”. The PTI has vowed to lock horns with those who aim at sabotaging the system and try to fan anarchic trends in the country for personal reasons and gains.

The party leaders criticised National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq for reportedly delivering a “political speech” at a gathering in Lahore on Tuesday. They lashed out at Mr Sadiq for “dishonouring the house and speaker’s position by serving the House of Sharifs”.

The PTI strongly condemned the brutal violence by the security guards of Faisalabad’s Agriculture University on the media persons and demanded that the government take strict action against senior administrative officials, including the university’s vice chancellor.

Talking to Dawn, PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry alleged that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family had failed to come clean on the corruption charges and “their body language divulges their doom in Panama Papers leaks case”.

He said after the remarks of the SC judges, there was no doubt that the superior judiciary and JIT were being intimidated and blackmailed at the behest of the prime minister.

The spokesman vowed that the PTI would foil every attempt of the government to put pressure on the JIT at a time when it was busy in finalising its findings. He said the PTI believed that this was the most crucial phase of the Panama Papers case probe since the nation was awaiting the JIT’s findings.

Meanwhile, PTI MNA Asad Umer in a statement has expressed grave concern over the phenomenal increase in the trade deficit and urged the federal government to change the impaired economic policies.

He lashed out at the government stating that textile exports had fallen, factories shut down and millions of workers had been pushed to abyss of unemployment.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2017