LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari says that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is getting on the nerves of the PTI founder and his followers, as they see her hand behind every move that hurts the opposition party’s interests.

Responding to a statement by the PTI leader, Asad Qaiser, that Maryam Nawaz and Khwaja Asif were sabotaging the dialogue process between the government and the party, the minister said in a statement that the opposition has developed “Maryam phobia” because of the Punjab chief minister’s performance in the province.

Ms Bokhari recalled that Ms Nawaz had been disqualified before the 2018 elections at the behest of the PTI leaders and then arrested in front of her father. “Today, Maryam Nawaz is serving the people of Punjab as chief minister with a historic mandate.”

She said the public has understood the “deception and deviousness” of the “Fitna party” and would no longer trust it.

The minister said that in fact, Imran’s sisters and wife could be behind derailing the dialogue process and prolonging his stay behind the bars because they were “beneficiaries” of the current arrangement. “His sisters and wife are trying to grab the party leadership and wish that Imran should stay in prison as long as possible.”

Taking a jab at the former prime minister, she said that the PTI founder, while in prison, would conspire to create disorder and chaos in the country, as his followers were shedding crocodile tears on his predicament.

Referring to the PTI founder, she said when this person was in power, he would threaten not to spare anyone, but was now “begging for an NRO (deal)”.“A person who has betrayed his every benefactor should no longer expect sympathy.”

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2025