LAHORE: Federal Minister for Information Atta Tarar has accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of causing the kind of damage to the country “that only an enemy would wish to inflict.”

He made the remarks while addressing an inauguration ceremony for development works at Sher Shah Chowk in the provincial capital.

Tarar said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leadership has always remained committed to public service. “We promised development work to the people, and today we have fulfilled that commitment,” he said, adding that the party is delivering on the pledges made during the election campaign and that basic facilities in the constituency are being completed on priority.

Criticising the PTI’s performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister said the party had been ruling the province for 12 years but had “turned KP into ruins.” He claimed PTI failed to build even a single hospital comparable to PKLI (Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute). “Every major national project bears the nameplate of Nawaz Sharif,” he said.

Referring to PTI’s public meeting in Peshawar, Tarar said the people had “rejected” the rally. He reiterated allegations regarding the £190 million case and called the PTI founder “a mentally unstable person,” accusing him of misappropriating even hospital and welfare funds.

Tarar stated that the Chief of Defence Forces–Field Marshal “commands fear among the enemy,” noting that the armed forces under his leadership had downed seven enemy aircraft. In contrast, he said, the “cowardly PTI government” (2018-2022) did not raise its voice against India and sidelined critical issues such as Kashmir and Palestine.

The information minister also alleged that PTI’s social media accounts were peddling propaganda against state institutions. “PTI does not care about Pakistan’s interests. They did exactly what the enemy wanted - on May 9 they attacked sensitive installations, and on May 10 India faced defeat,” he said.

The minister recalled that the PTI even wrote to the IMF urging it not to provide financial assistance to Pakistan. “They say ‘Without Khan there is no Pakistan’. We curse such a mindset a thousand times,” he said, vowing that this narrative would be defeated.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2025