Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and the daughter of prime minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, locked horns on social media after Imran accused the government of approving Rs430 million for the renovation of Nawaz Sharif’s personal home in Murree.

Maryam Nawaz was quick to respond on Twitter and defended her father’s name, clarifying that it was government property and not the personal house of the Sharif family.

The PTI chief had earlier tweeted saying the “government has approved Rs43o million for refurbishing Sharif's personal home in Murree using SAARC Summit in Murree as a pretext”, terming is a shameful act.

“This is not first time Sharifs have used public money on their properties. Rs 11 billion were spent on upgrading Raiwind estate and its environs,” he further wrote on the micro-blogging website.

Imran also claimed “it is due to such abuse of public money by our leaders that the people are reluctant to pay taxes”.

The issue didn’t settle on social media as Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid also issued a scathing statement in this regard and said the PTI chief was “hostage to his habit of telling lies”.

The minister went on to lambast Khan to a “lies manufacturing factory”, adding that “the PTI chief could not live without lying in his daily routine”.

The Governor House in Murree, which is being renovated, is not a private residence, Rashid said. “The PTI chairman should be ashamed of his baseless allegation in this regard.”

“Imran Khan has recently returned from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, however, it is regrettable that he has still not abandoned his bad habits,” the information minister maintained.

Considering these two replies as not being enough, the federal government took upon itself to issue a formal clarification on the matter as well.

“The Governor House in Murree is a historical government building which is being restored and refurbished for its preservation,” read a statement issued by a PM House spokesman on Sunday evening.

The statement further clarified that, “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had not stayed in this building for a single night during his current tenure.”

While referring to the “certain allegations” regarding allocation of funds on any private building in Murree, the PM House spokesperson said that these statements were “misplaced and wrong”.