ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sat­ur­day said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan posted an AI-generated image of a woman on his Twitter handle to accuse law enforcement agencies of targeting his female supporters.

Addressing a press conference, Ms Aurangzeb clarified that no such incident took place and his false claim was exposed by a TV channel, France 24.

“On May 19 in a tweet, Imran Khan uploaded pictures of Rangers and police in front of a woman’s picture created by artificial intelligence,” she said, adding that Mr Khan and his party attempted to create a false perception that their female supporters were being targeted by law enforcers.

However, the French TV channel exposed the truth, stating unequivocally that no one’s fundamental rights were violated during the crackdown on May 9 arsonists, she added.

Marriyum refutes allegation that LEAs targeting female supporters of PTI

Contrarily, she said, the PTI goons, under Mr Khan’s direction, trampled upon the human rights of school children, hospital patients and the public by attacking sensitive installations and public property.

She expressed that the entire nation was disheartened by the planned attacks, which were aimed at diverting attention from cases of prohibited funding, theft of gifted items from the Toshakhana, and his daughter’s paternity issue.

The minister said that even the enemy had not done in 75 years’ history what Mr Khan did on May 9. She said that for the first time in Pakistan’s history, the uniform was mocked and the memorials of the martyrs were desecrated, which caused jubilation in the neighbouring country.

Ms Aurangzeb said Imran Khan was the mastermind beh­ind the May 9 arson attacks and his so-called condemnation of the tragic incidents would not absolve him of responsibility.

PTI chairman’s dirty antics and tricks were continuing on a daily basis, she added.

The minister said for the first time, Mr Khan had realised what were the consequences of playing with the law.

“Imran Khan had been planning such terrorist activities for the past 14 months when he was thrown out of power through the democratic process of no-confidence motion,” she said.

Terming the May 9 arson attacks as the darkest day in Pakistan’s history, the minister said that Jinnah House, now Corps Commander’s House, was set on fire and the memorials of martyrs were desecrated by PTI gangs at the behest of Imran Khan.

She said PTI miscreants burned schools, mosques, ambulances, public property and even targeted the animals’ market. Mr Khan’s actions pleased Pakist­an’s enemies, as he achieved what they couldn’t in the past 75 years, she said.

Ms Aurangzeb said that the PTI’s senior leadership persistently infuriated and instigated party workers during the arson attacks. The entire nation was in shock following the tragedy of May 9. However, on May 19, Mr Khan attempted to stage a “condemnation drama” to conceal his own crimes, but he could not absolve himself from responsibility. Moreover, she said Mr Khan had yet to condemn the attacks on memorials of martyrs and Ghazis, sensitive installations, and public property.

The minister said that whenever Mr Khan was questioned about his corruption, he incited the nation’s children to attack sensitive installations.

She emphasised that if the PTI chief had not committed any crime, he should defend himself in the courts. She suggested that if there were no terrorists in Zaman Park, Mr Khan should allow the Punjab government to search the building.

In response to a question, Ms Aurangzeb affirmed that elections would be held after the completion of the constitutional terms of the assemblies. She dismissed rumours of election delays, attributing them to the spread of false information by fascist elements.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2023