NAROWAL, Oct 2(ABC): Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal lashed out Sunday at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, stating that by admitting that he had lost his copy of the cypher was a confession of crime and of violating the Official Secrets Act.
Addressing a news conference in Narowal on Sunday, the federal planning minister took aim at Imran Khan’s latest admission in a televised interview.
In the interview, Imran had claimed that he did not know where his official copy of the cypher was and stated that it has ‘disappeared’.
Iqbal said that by manipulating the contents of the cypher for ulterior motives had damaged the diplomatic standing of Pakistan.
Referring to proclamations from some PTI members that arrest of Imran Khan will be crossing a red line, Iqbal said that Imran had himself crossed a red line of the constitution, of respect of national institutions, the law and oath of the prime minister’s office.
He said that Imran had violated the Official Secrets Act by first disclosing a secret diplomatic document then trying to manipulate its contents to serve his interests.
“Doctoring the cypher, ascribing a self-determined meaning to a document, you have damaged the foundations of Pakistan’s diplomacy.”
Seducer
Iqbal accused Imran of seducing people with his words. He added that the former cricketer had mastered the art of disposing of people after using them akin to tissue paper.
He listed the people who Imran Khan has seduced.
Iqbal went on to quip that Imran perhaps used the same tactics with women, secondly with the rich. He said that if someone was carrying $100 in their pocket, Imran’s hand was invariably in their pocket.
“It has now been proven that Imran [Ahmed Khan] Niazi, who used to collect donations in the name of Shaukat Khanum Hospital, spent the money on his party’s political activities and had toyed with their members,” the federal minister claimed.
“Imran Khan did not dare to claim defamation against the story published by the Financial Times, which was known as the bible of economics and finance,” he said.
“However, when a British newspaper published a story against Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister took the publication to court (and won), so why does Imran Niazi have no courage to take the Financial Times to court?” he asked.
Thirdly, Imran seduced the establishment. He used to carry a laptop with Asad Umar and told the establishment that there was no one more honest and pure than them, he added.
Continuing the list, he said the fourth victim was the judiciary, lured by stories like the Panama Papers case, after which the Supreme Court judge told Imran Niazi to leave the streets and come to the courtroom.
He said the decision taken in the Panama case would be considered one of the most controversial decisions in the history of Pakistan because the downfall of Pakistan started with the decision of the Panama case in 2017.