LAHORE: Accusing the ousted premier of causing a massive damage to the nation by annoying friendly countries and flouting the country’s laws and the Constitution, Federal Minister for planning, Development & Special Reforms Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said Imran Khan is accomplishing “anti-state agenda”.

“You (Imran Khan) annoyed China by saying it gave us expensive loans. Despite knowing the fact that a number of overseas Pakistanis are living in Europe and GSP plus status given to Pakistan by the European Union, you started challenging the entity in your public meetings,” the minister said at a press conference here on Sunday.

Rhetorically addressing the PTI chairman, the PML-N leader said: “You know [the importance of] our country’s access to the US trade markets and its relations with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East, but you destroyed our long-lasting relations with these states,” he deplored, adding, “Since you even sold the country as well as nation’s respect, it seems you are toeing some anti-state agenda,” he alleged.

About the ‘lettergate’ issue, Mr Iqbal says though the National Security Committee (NSC) clarified twice that there was no conspiracy on the part of the US to topple the Imran Khan’s government, Mr Khan continues playing with the country’s interest “in a bid to just keep his failed politics alive”.

Says Qaiser, Suri to face action for ‘subverting Constitution’

“By selling the gifts you received from foreign dignitaries, being PM of Pakistan, in the market, what image or respect of the country you have left in the whole world,” he said.

The minister said Imran used to pray for submission of a no-confidence motion by the opposition, and when it was tabled, he claimed the opposition had been trapped. However, when the move became successful, Imran took a U-turn and termed it an international conspiracy against his government, he added.

The minister criticised the ousted premier for what he called flouting the country’s Constitution by using the National Assembly’s speaker and deputy speaker and then declared them heroes. “But I tell you that action will be taken against the former speaker Asad Qaisar and ex-deputy speaker Qasim Suri for flouting the Constitution,” Ahsan warned.

He alleged that Imran Khan wanted to make the country a banana republic, but he would never be allowed to do so. “You ask in your rallies why the courts opened at 12 midnight. I tell you that Supreme Court performed its duty to protect the Constitution after it noticed it was being flouted by you,” he said. “You also trampled over the Constitution by depriving Punjab of the local bodies’ leadership by not implementing the apex court orders,”he added.

He said it was evident that Imran would be feeling the country fearing Election Commission “because he got funding from the resources of the country’s enemies”.

The minister regretted that Punjab, the biggest province, was without any chief minister and a government for the last many days just because of the PTI’s rigidness. “When no-confidence motion was presented here [in Punjab], Parvez Elahi and his accomplices attacked the lawmakers and the deputy speaker,” he said.

The minister said that during the last PML-N government, $US20 billion investment was being made in the nine industrial zones in the country. “But out of the nine zones, work on five is yet to begin,” he deplored, adding that it was the best time to get rid of Imran Khan.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2022