LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf central Punjab president Umer Dar says former senior minister’s arrest is a big shock for the party and the government but all the powerful including Aleem Khan and prime minister Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan will be treated equally by the law-enforcement agencies and anti-graft watchdog.

Speaking at a news conference at Chairman’s Secretariat on Thursday, Mr Dar said Aleem Khan’s arrest was not a balancing act as being portrayed by the opposition.

He said the opposition leaders, including Hamza Shahbaz, were crying hoarse that the NAB was victimising them and not arresting anyone from the ruling party and added that they specifically used to ask about Aleem Khan.

He said the PTI government was peddling one narrative that it would hold all the corrupt accountable. “This is the real change of Naya Pakistan the PTI was vying for,” he asserted.

To a question, he said all those, who went to the accountability court to welcome Aleem Khan, had gone in their individual capacity.

Mr Dar said the PTI leadership set precedents explaining that Aleem Khan tendered his resignation and so was done by prime minister’s adviser Babar Awan and former federal minister Azam Swati.

He said it was high time that Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif showed grace and resign from the PAC chairmanship till he would come clean from the NAB inquiry. He asserted that Aleem Khan would come out of the NAB inquiry [clean] as he had already submitted all his documents and explained money trails. “Aleem Khan’s arrest is not a politically motivated case,” he asserted.

Answering a question, Mr Dar said former premier Nawaz Sharif was physically fit but suffering from “political disease”. He said Nawaz Sharif wanted to gain public sympathies but his film would flop as was the case with his ‘Mujhe Kyun Nikala’ mantra.

The PTI central Punjab president also announced beginning reorganisation of the party from regions, to divisions, districts, tehsils, union councils and wards level to strengthen the party base. He said the reorganisation would aim at making the party a vibrant, active and effective body so that its candidates at every level could win elections in the time to come.

MPA Saadia Suhail Rana and PTI central Punjab information secretary Waqas Iftikhar were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2019