LAHORE: Federal Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal has blamed “some judges and generals” for imposing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founder leader Imran Khan on the nation in 2018.

“Had some judges and generals not taken decisions with the wisdom of their wives and children and not influenced by a handsome and inexperienced man (Imran Khan) the country would not have been pushed back in development for 10 years,” Iqbal told a presser here on Wednesday.

He said Imran Khan thought himself bigger than the state. “This style of politics will lead the PTI nowhere. The government will not allow anyone to fan anarchy in the country and any such act will be dealt with iron hand,” he warned.

He said the PTI was in the parliament and it should use this platform for politics instead of resorting to street [protest]. He said Imran Khan had been in jail not because of the PML-N government but his own deeds.

The PML-N secretary general further said a political party started trolling to get ‘desired’ verdicts from judges and the same was done with the armed forces.

Iqbal said propaganda was made on Pak-China relations. He said this political party also got published articles giving impression that China had some issue with Pakistan. He said with the visit of the prime minister Pakistan’s relations with China got further strengthened and CPEC would go more deeper.

Recalling the tenure of the PTI, he said Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia and UAE had hit low during the Imran Khan’s government and the CPEC had punctured.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024