Govt to neutralize Opp’s no-trust motion against PM: Habib

Rejects assertions PTI MPs’ in contact with opposition

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Thursday rejected the claims made by the opposition leaders regarding some PTI parliamentarians being in contact with them.

Had the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) members of parliament (MPs) been in contact with the opposition parties, how would have the bill regarding State Bank of Pakistan been passed, he asked while addressing a news conference. Farrukh questioned the absence of opposition leaders from the Senate and National Assembly on the day when crucial legislation was carried out.

“Such claims are baseless and ridiculous,” he remarked while rubbishing the opposition leaders’ assertions of the PTI MPs being in contact with them. Farrukh said the government was ready to neutralize the opposition’s no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan. The opposition should rather keep an eye on their own MPs, who used to remain absent from the parliament on the day when crucial legislative bills were taken up.

Whenever there is an anti-government move, he said, the opposition claims to be fully prepared, but ironically, rifts have developed in the opposition gradually. The minister said the opposition’s move of no-trust was bound to fail due to their infighting. He said the notion about a rift between the government and its coalition partners was totally wrong as “our allies stood by us in the past and will continue to do so in future”.

There were always challenges for a coalition government but the PTI is taking all-out measures to address the grievances of its allies, he added. Farrukh also lashed at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Safdar for constantly seeking adjournments from the courts in their corruption cases.

He said Maryam’s father Nawaz Sharif had bought four flats in London from the laundered money in 1990s, but denied their ownership. Similarly, he said, Maryam herself denied ownership of those flats in a live TV interview with an assertion that she did not have any property anywhere. Later, her brother also in a live TV talk show made a statement that Maryam Safdar was the beneficiary owner of those flats, he added.

The contrasting statements of the whole family reveal how they orchestrated different schemes to mislead the nation about their corruption, the minister asserted. Farrukh said the Sharif family used many tactics to get relief from the court by corrupting the system, but it was Prime Minister Imran Khan who foiled their every attempt to escape the accountability process.

Separately, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill Thursday said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision not to shake hands with opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was right as now more documented proofs of his and his sons’ corruption have started to surface.

“We are asked as to why the prime minister does not talk to Shehbaz Sharif. We are asked to abandon the accountability process and move ahead through dialogue. However, the new documentary proofs about Shehbaz and his sons has once again proved that the prime minister’s decision of not talking and shaking hands with a corrupt individual was absolutely right,” he told a press conference here at the PTV Headquarters. He said the total worth of Shehbaz Sharif and family’s assets in 1990 was Rs2.1 million, but surprisingly they collectively paid Rs 14.8 million tax in 1998 as per their returns.