LAHORE: The Pak­istan Tehreek-i-Insaf has decided to form a shadow cabinet in Punjab to monitor the provincial government’s performance in each administrative department.

Party’s senior leader Mian Aslam Iqbal, in hiding since the May 9 violent protest, says the party has decided to form a shadow cabinet to scrutinise the performance of the ‘stolen-mandate government’ in Punjab.

Tweeting from his X handle, Mr Iqbal said the incumbent Punjab government was ambitious to unleash political victimisation instead of public welfare. “The PTI will closely watch the performance of each department through its shadow-cabinet,” he said.

Mr Iqbal said no one saw or heard firing during the Sunday protest at the GPO Chowk but the Punjab police unleashed fascism. “The PTI will fight against fascism at every front,” he resolved.

In a tweet, PTI leader Hammad Azhar stated that the Lahore police had registered four FIRs, arrested 104 party workers and five lawyers. “All arrested workers have been discharged from fake FIRs except one MPA Hafiz Farhat Abbas. As per my sources, police were told to do homework on Hafiz Farhat Abbas and ensure he is not released,” claimed Mr Azhar.

Maryam defends Nawaz’s picture on ‘Ramazan flour bags’

Nawaz’s picture

Justifying PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s picture on Ramazan flour bags, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz says the government in Punjab belongs to Nawaz Sharif and concluded her argument by saying “Thank you”.

Ms Nawaz was speaking to media in between her hours-long meetings in the Punjab Civil Secretariat on Monday.

When a journalist asked her the opposition was strongly criticizing why the government had put Nawaz Sharif’s picture on Ramazan flour bags using public money, she responded: “Whose government is in Punjab? Of Nawaz Sharif. Thank you”.

PTI Central Punjab general secretary Hammad Azhar commented that “such an arrogance does not suit the government formed with a stolen mandate”.Answering another question about whether the chief secretary will also be transferred as a part of bureaucracy reshuffle, Maryam said, “Why those (officers) be replaced who are doing good work”.

A source in the bureaucracy, however, confided to Dawn that the transfers and postings of over 50 senior bureaucrats on March 8 implied that they were not doing good work.

Responding to yet another question that she is being blamed for giving a go-ahead to police to torture protesters (belonging to PTI) on Sunday, the chief minister asked why she be blamed. “When people will come out on roads to destabilise the country in the name of politics and democracy, I will not let this happen,” Ms Nawaz said and added the government and law of the land would take their course to protect the lives and properties of people. “This is not political victimisation,” she added.

The chief minister said she had seen a video where a woman attacked a police van and freed some people arrested by the police. “Does this happen anywhere in the world,” she asked.

Taking a question about an unbridled hike in prices of essential items at the advent of Ramazan, Ms Nawaz acknowledged that such a practice of hoarding and raising prices of essential items in the holy month of Ramazan did not happen anywhere in the world. In other countries, she said, prices of essential items go down but in Punjab there is no price control mechanism. She said currently her government is coping with the menace.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2024