ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Khawaja Asif has launched a scathing attack on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), accusing the opposition party of seeking new benefactors after former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the defence minister referenced comments by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Aun Chaudhry, who claimed he had to hide PTI founder Imran Khan in a car trunk to transport him to General (retd) Amjad Awan’s residence. Asif alleged that, according to the IPP leader, the jailed PTI founder made numerous desperate pleas for assistance, stopping short of holding Bajwa’s feet.
“After Bajwa sahib, they [PTI] are now trying to hold the feet of someone else. Hardly anyone has ‘licked’ as many shoes as the PTI founder,” the federal minister remarked.
Asif’s pointed remarks were in response to PTI Secretary-General Omar Ayub Khan’s speech in the lower house of parliament, where he criticized the federal government for presenting a budget he claimed was detrimental to the nation. Ayub, who is also the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, labeled the budget as the work of an “economic hitman.”
Mocking Ayub’s speech, Asif said it reminded him of similar praises Ayub had previously lavished on PML-N leaders Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif, now directed at PTI founder Imran Khan.
The defence minister added that the PML-N would welcome the PTI if it apologized for the violent protests of May 9, which erupted in response to former PM Imran Khan’s arrest last year.
Asif also criticized the opposition party for writing to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), urging the global lender to condition funding on an audit of alleged electoral rigging. He accused the PTI of wanting the country to default after being ousted from power.
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