‘No time for your allegations’: PM Shehbaz and Imran take beef to social media

Published September 13, 2022
A combination photo of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) and PTI chairperson Imran Khan (L). — DawnNewsTV/Reuters
A combination photo of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) and PTI chairperson Imran Khan (L). — DawnNewsTV/Reuters

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the government was busy rehabilitating flood victims and did not have time for PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s “accusations and misunderstandings”.

A day ago, the PTI chief had asked the prime minister on Twitter if he was responsible for a string of recent alleged actions against the PTI, including silencing it on the media, registering cases against pro-PTI journalists, “blacking it out” on social media or stopping the telecast of the party’s flood donation telethon.

“We know that your criminal followers and their patrons are afraid of the PTI’s popularity. If you are not responsible for usurping our constitutional rights and deviating from international commitments regarding freedom of expression and press, then it is your responsibility to tell the nation who is responsible for all this,” Imran had said.

Replying directly to Imran today, PM Shehbaz said: “Our government is currently busy with the rehabilitation of the flood victims, so there is no time for your accusations and misunderstandings.”

He expressed hope that the PTI chief would give an account of “every single penny” raised in the telethon as well as the donations gathered during the 2010 floods as “I and my colleagues have always given”.

Regarding Imran’s allegations of suppressive actions, Shehbaz said such methods and restrictions were the “PTI’s tactics and not ours”. “We are only following the path of the law and the Constitution,” he added.

A day ago, the PTI had slammed the government for allegedly blocking the transmission of the telethon that the party had arranged on Sunday night for collecting donations from overseas Pakistanis and announced its decision to challenge the government’s move before the Islamabad High Court.

Opinion

Editorial

Spread of hate
18 Jun, 2025

Spread of hate

HATE speech is not confined to words; in fact, there is a causal link between hateful rhetoric and real-world...
Big challenges
18 Jun, 2025

Big challenges

BALOCHISTAN’S Rs1.028tr budget, featuring a public development investment of Rs245bn and provincial surplus of...
Rampant disinformation
18 Jun, 2025

Rampant disinformation

WITH the arrival and proliferation of digital media, the creation of information is now a decentralised function,...
Window dressing
Updated 17 Jun, 2025

Window dressing

Meanwhile, the provinces lack the resources and expertise to implement adaptation measures effectively.
No revenue effort
17 Jun, 2025

No revenue effort

WITH the ruling PML-N’s next budget unfolding large infrastructure schemes, and expenditure focusing on service...
Pomp and circumstance
17 Jun, 2025

Pomp and circumstance

THE sight of columns of tanks rolling down a boulevard, accompanied by troops goose-stepping in lockstep, was a...