Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday stated that the opposition was trying to conceal its misdeeds and hamper the accountability process.
He said this while chairing a meeting of the government and party spokesmen in Islamabad.
During the meeting, political and social situation of the country was discussed, while the participants also deliberated upon the strategies regarding the protest of opposition parties.
Sources said that the premier directed them to reply the opposition in a befitting manner on every front, vowing that nobody could stop the process of accountability.
He said opposition leaders were claiming that they were ready for accountability, but they could not provide any concrete evidence in the cases against them, and were just making hue and cry to divert the attention of the masses.
According to sources, the participants were of the opinion that Maulana Fazlur Rehman should not change the date of the Azadi March. They said he should come to Islamabad so that the nation could see how the JUI-F chief was playing games to achieve his political goals.
Imran Khan stated that Maulana Fazlur Rehman was trying to save his sinking political career. “The government is introducing reforms in madrassas, which has worried Maulana the most. After these reforms, madrassa students will not be used for such acts.”
On Thursday, Fazl announced that the party would begin its anti-government ‘Freedom March’ on October 27.
The announcement by the JUI-F chief has shaken up the country’s dormant political scene overnight, forcing the PTI government to devise a counter strategy against the potential political challenge.
“The current government is the result of a fake election and fake results,” Fazl had said during a press conference. He said that all opposition parties had rejected the July 25, 2018 election results and had called for fresh elections.
“In this regard, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal have carried out 15 ‘million marches’ in the country to raise awareness among the people,” he said.
In July, Fazl had demanded Imran Khan to step down or be ready for a long march to Islamabad. Now he is all set to stage a sit-in in the same place where Imran Khan had demonstrated for more than 120 days against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2014.
Fazl was earlier approached by leaders of the two major opposition parties – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – and requested to postpone dates for the Islamabad ‘lockdown’ plan and the march until November, but Fazl made it clear it was not his individual decision but that of his party’s Central Working Committee and he was obliged to stand by that decision.
Separately, Imran Khan stated that the revival of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) was among the top priorities of the government.
He said this while chairing a high-level session to discuss the steps for the revival of the state-owned PSM.
The prime minister further said that the government was making all-out efforts to transform the PSM into a profitable entity. He was briefed on different recommendations for the revival of the steel mills. During the briefing, the premier was told that China and Russia had offered to provide assistance to revive the PSM, as its companies expressed interest in making investments.
The officials told him that the institutions concerned were mulling over different recommendations and the offers placed by the foreign companies.
The premier urged authorities to activate the national entity so that it could play its role in the national development.
It may be mentioned here that Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to depart for China on Monday night, while all preparations have been completed for his forthcoming visit to Beijing. The premier will be accompanied by an adviser and three federal ministers.
During his visit, the premier would hold discussions with the top leadership of China over the Kashmir dispute, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), ML-01 project and other matters of bilateral interests.
