PESHAWAR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz provincial president Eng Amir Muqam has said that the days are not far when Maryam Nawaz would lead the country.

Speaking at the women convention here on Sunday, he said that joint investigation team, probing the Panama Leaks, should record statement of the Qatari prince, one of the central characters of the case. He said that JIT report would remain incomplete without recording statement of the prince.

Mr Muqam, who is also adviser to the prime minister, said that PML-N would strengthen democratic institutions. He said that appearance of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before the JIT showed respect for judiciary and other institutions.

A video that went viral on social media showed that cash was being distributed among the women, who were brought to the convention hall in city’s Gulbahar locality. Witnesses said that women were paid for attending the convention.

In his address, Mr Muqam said that Maryam Nawaz would soon lead the country. He said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan only brought women to sit-in and protest rallies.

Criticising the policies of PTI and its coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said that PTI was hatching conspiracies to block economic and development activities in the country through agitation. “Blocking development activities is synonymous to terrorism,” he alleged.

He said that PTI had pushed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa five decades back through its policies. He said that people wanted mega projects like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He said that PTI could not set up a single burns centre in the province during the last four years.

Mr Muqam said that provincial government closed down its own accountability bureau and could not produce single megawatt electricity in the province despite immense hydel potential. He alleged that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was involved in corruption in mining sector.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2017