RAWALPINDI: Legal experts, civil society activists and others have raised questions regarding the decisions taken by the Supreme Court in the Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif cases, said Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday.

Speaking at the inauguration of an exhibition of photos of Korea at the Rawalpindi Arts Council, she said people had also objected to references to the Sicilian mafia and The Godfather.

“The standards maintained for Niazi Services and Nawaz Sharif were different,” she said.

Nawaz Sharif was disqualified on the basis of an iqama and receivable income which he did not withdraw while Imran Khan has admitted that he established an offshore company for the purchase of a flat but no action was taken against him, she said.

Decisions such as the one taken on July 28 create hurdles in the way of development and progress, she said.

Asked about Nawaz Sharif’s decision to launch a movement for the provision of justice, she said the former premier’s statement should not be taken as being against any institution.

“Giving a statement in one’s defence does not mean there is a clash with institutions,” she said.

The people had elected Nawaz Sharif as their prime minister and it is their right to send him back home, she added.

The minister maintained that there are no differences in the party and that all party leaders are united under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.

“The PML-N is the biggest party in the country and has made all decisions in a democratic way and by getting the opinion of all leaders. Once an issue is decided, all of the party leaders follow the policy,” she explained.

The PML-N will contest the 2018 elections on the basis of its performance and all other parties will not be able to keep up, she said.

“The new alliances will not affect us, whether that is Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri or Asif Ali Zardari and Tahirul Qadri,” she added.

“The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf failed to deliver in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It failed to start projects like the metro bus and the orange train and they spend all their time in criticising the development in Punjab. Some 1,000 schools in KP were shut down due to zero enrolment while the enrolment rate in Punjab is 98pc,” she said.

Asked a question about electricity and gas loadshedding, the minister said the country is generating more electricity than what is demanded and that loadshedding has ended.

“The PML-N brought the country out from darkness and generated more electricity. No protest was launched against the government in the recent past due to electricity shortage,” she added.

She said the issue of gas pressure will also be improved in a month or two.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2017