Govt ministers slam Nawaz Sharif's APC speech, say opposition spreading anarchy in country

(Karachi) The government has slammed the joint opposition's All Party Conference and said that Nawaz Sharif's speech was merely a bundle of lies and an attempt to cast doubts over the 2018 elections. They added the opposition only wants to create anarchy in the country.

Addressing a press conference a day after the joint opposition parties announced launching an anti-government movement under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the opposition is only spreading confusion and making things controversial.

APC aimed to raise suspicion on 2018 polls

Faraz said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had raised suspicions about the election process because his party was unable to gather votes in the 2018 polls.

He added, "Nawaz Sharif is "not used to a free and fair election". Faraz said that the three elections which Nawaz won were fair while the 2018 polls in which he faced defeat was rigged because he could not form a government.

The information minister said that the opposition wants things to be done according to their plans but when it does not happen, they start accusing and blaming the government.

He maintained that opposition's only aim is to destabilize the present set up and discredit a political setup which they claim to own.

He said Nawaz Sharif looked healthy during the APC but he still claims to be ill.

Opposition is against accountability

Speaking on the occasion, Planning Minister Asad Umar said Prime Minister Imran Khan had stated that the opposition has everything at stake and when accountability moves forward they will all get together. "Opposition's yesterday APC was a clear indication what Imran Khan said".

He said the opposition had hoped that "the economic recession they left behind would be enough to oust the government" but the PTI government brought the country out of the economic crisis.

He said opposition parties criticized every thing but left coronavirus pandemic. He added they knew the entire world praised Pakistan's efforts to counter the outbreak. "The opposition had tried to directly "blackmail" the government on the FATF bills to obtain an NRO."

He said the armed forces ended terrorism in the tribal districts by launching operations while the security situation in Karachi also improved. He highlighted that a development package "Karachi Transformation Plan" was announced for the city.

Umar said Indian news channels reported that Nawaz Sharif has returned to politics. Umar said that in yesterday's speech, Nawaz had spoken against the army. "He should have at least thought before speaking against the military as several of their people were martyred in operations during PML-N's government."

He said in the current set-up, the army and the civilian leadership were working together to solve the country's problems.

Opposition wants relaxation in corruption cases

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said in Nawaz's speech yesterday he said that the military and judiciary were in the wrong," he said, adding that the PML-N supremo would be the first politician who would be asking the people to come out on the streets as he sits comfortably in his apartment in London.

He said that he felt like Nawaz was going through some sickness or Alzheimer's. "He has forgotten how he became known in politics."

"We are instructed by the prime minister to resolve the problems identified by the judiciary," he said, adding that the PTI-led government did not have anything against the judiciary, unlike PML-N.

The science minister said that the only problem between the opposition and government was that the former wants us to give relaxation in the cases against them.

APC only benefitted India

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the APC held by opposition parties only benefitted India. He said the APC targeted each and every institution. "They wanted to discredit the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but they failed in their attempt," he mentioned.

He said that the armed forces had sacrificed their lives for safeguarding the country.

The foreign minister further said that opposition is raising hue and cry after they have realized that they would not be able to get an NRO this time. “They will not get their desired amendments in NAB law,” he said adding that yesterday’s conference was aimed at overthrowing the institution of NAB.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi also rejected criticism from the APC platform over the government’s policy on Kashmir and Afghanistan and said that for the first time Pakistan is being lauded for highlighting the Kashmir issue at international platforms and playing a positive role in the Afghan peace process.