Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday accused the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the sons of former prime minister Imran Khan of acting against Pakistan\u2019s national and economic interests, alleging efforts to damage the country\u2019s global standing and stability.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar said many people in Pakistan had made sacrifices for the country, but claimed the PTI had failed to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of sacrifice is stealing a watch? Taking foreign funding? Corruption of \u00a3190 million? What kind of sacrifice is this?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this country, politicians have given sacrifices beyond their means. There have been chants of \u2018Pakistan Khappay\u2019 to save the country,\u201d he added. \u201cNobody wished for ruin to reach Pakistan because they themselves were ruined… shame on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarar said the government had invited Imran Khan\u2019s sons to return to Pakistan using the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), but alleged they chose other options instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe asked the sons of the founder of PTI to come to Pakistan on NICOP, but they remained focused on other options,\u201d he said. \u201cYou made up stories saying we would arrest you, but we said we would welcome you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister also criticised PTI\u2019s economic record, alleging the party had pushed Pakistan close to default during its tenure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PTI had pushed Pakistan to the brink of default,\u201d he said, adding that prayers or wishes for a sovereign default were unacceptable.<\/p>\n
Also read:\u00a0Kasim urges UNHRC intervention to end Imran’s persecution, detention immediately<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the nation defaults, yes, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will suffer, but more than that, it will be the common man who suffers,\u201d Tarar said. \u201cThe country’s white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, wageworkers \u2013 everyone would suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n
He claimed Pakistan avoided default under the current PML-N-led government and said the World Bank had praised the country\u2019s economic model.<\/p>\n
Tarar also criticised PTI\u2019s housing promises, saying the party had pledged to build five million homes but instead \u201ccaused severe harm to Pakistan\u201d during its four years in power.<\/p>\n
Referring to trade matters, he alleged PTI attempted to undermine Pakistan\u2019s European Union GSP Plus trade status in 2024, calling it a deliberate effort to harm exporters and destabilise the economy. He maintained that economic conditions had improved under the present government.<\/p>\n
\u201cCriticism is everyone\u2019s right, but the dignity of the country should not be compromised,\u201d Tarar said. \u201cNo political leader or party is bigger than Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister accused overseas activists and former PTI associates, including Arif Aajakia and Zulfi Bukhari, of engaging in conspiracies that damaged Pakistan\u2019s image abroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cArif Aajakia runs campaigns for India in the UK. Aajakia has always been seen spreading propaganda against Pakistan,\u201d he said, adding that Zulfi Bukhari and associates were involved in \u201cconspiracies against Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more:\u00a0Imran Khan talks with sons on Eid day<\/p>\n
Tarar also criticised PTI\u2019s stance on international issues, saying, \u201cIn PTI’s accounts, we have never seen condemnation of Israel,\u201d and accused the party of failing to oppose developments threatening Pakistan\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n
He concluded by asserting Pakistan\u2019s resilience despite political challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more conspiracies they hatch against Pakistan, the higher Pakistan will rise,\u201d Tarar said, adding that Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic role in the Middle East was gaining global recognition.<\/p>\n
He credited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for strengthening Pakistan\u2019s international position, and claimed Indian media appeared \u201ctroubled\u201d by Pakistan\u2019s growing diplomatic profile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday accused the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the sons of former prime minister Imran Khan of acting against Pakistan\u2019s national and economic interests, alleging efforts to damage the country\u2019s global standing and stability. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar said many people in Pakistan …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2892,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions\/2892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}