Marriyum says Imran has no courage to face nation

• ‘PM appearing before JIT in deference to Supreme Court, for upholding constitution’

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that the prime minister is appearing before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in deference to the orders of the Supreme Court to uphold the law and constitution and to honour the trust of the people who had thrice elected him as the chief executive of the country.

Talking to journalists here on Monday, she observed that the prime minister not only presented himself for accountability but also his children and three generations of the Sharif family, notwithstanding certain reservations about the JIT and the fact that his sons were non-residents of the country and he had nothing to do with the business run by his late father.

She said that it was a ranting testimony to their respect for law and the constitution. Marriyum remarked that the prime minister himself had requested the apex court for the formation of a judicial commission to hold a probe into the Panama Papers. She pointed out that when the Panama Papers surfaced, the ICIJ apologized and stated that Nawaz Sharif had nothing to do with the reported scandal.

She said that the entire nation was aware of the fact that the prime minister had dissociated himself from the federal government when a calculated attempt was made to deprive the judiciary of its constitutional status through Dogar court.

She said that undeterred by the imposition of governor rule in Punjab and having him declared disqualified for life by the Dogar court, he on his own led a successful long march for the restoration of the respect and dignity of the judiciary.

The movement that he spearheaded was not for clinching political power or having his ineligibility for premiership revoked but for upholding the rule of law and restoring the sanctity of higher judiciary, she said. She said that the prime minister had decided to make an appearance before the JIT even before the summons were issued.

She said that when the prime minister wrote the letter to the court for the formation of a judicial commission or JIT, he implemented the decision the same day. She said that the prime minister right from the beginning he had made a commitment that whenever the court would summon his children according to the law and constitution, they would appear before the court.

The state minister said that the prime minister and PML-N believed in upholding the sanctity of the constitution and had never shied away from the courts as and when required, like some people who in the past did not appear before the courts on different pretexts like back pain, heart pain, mental stress and security reasons.

Marriyum emphatically said that she was proud that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif upheld the law and the constitution, adding she was also proud of the fact that Pakistan had a democratically-elected prime minister and democracy was gaining strength – a good news for the people.

She said those who were using the social media did not have the courage to face the nation. Referring to Imran Khan, she said he (Imran) tweets and goes on social media while sitting in a room, uses public resources while sitting atop mountains and claims that he compelled the prime minister to appear before the Supreme Court.

She said that Imran Khan was a proclaimed offender from an anti-terrorism court and an absconder from the Election Commission as well as the Supreme Court. She said that because of his lies and politics of allegations and his incessant attempts to ridicule the constitutional institutions, the people would take him to task in elections.

“Imran Khan will again be on the roads built by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the bad memories of his irresponsible actions would haunt him for the rest of his life,” she concluded.