ISLAMABAD: Federal Ministers Khawaja Asif and Miftah Ismail said on Thursday that the defeat in by-elections was not a setback and neither their narrative was affected nor was inflation the cause of the defeat.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif said that they had faced the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and were now on bail.
He said that the former PM and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, Imran Khan used state institutions to oppress his political opponents during his three and a half years of rule.
Commenting on political situation in the country, Khawaja Muhammad Asif said PML-N has consolidated its position in the recent by-elections in Punjab as its vote bank and seats have increased. “The PML-N won five seats, including one won by an independent who is also a PML-N loyalist,” he said, adding that it should be noted that the PTI previously won all 20 constituencies where the by-election was held in the General Election 2018.
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The Defence Minister said the track record of the PTI chairman s approach toward horse-trading over the last four years is an open secret. He said Imran Khan had once dubbed Pervaiz Elahi as the biggest dacoit of Punjab and now he is going to support him.
Asif further said the Punjab Administration, led by Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, organised the most transparent elections in the recent by-polls in Punjab. He said it showed our commitment to our narrative of giving respect to the sanctity of the vote without giving any consideration to politics.
On the occasion, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the country has sufficient stock of diesel, furnace oil, and motor gasoline for two months.
He said in view of the availability of this stock, there is no need to import these commodities, which will reduce pressure on the Pakistani rupee.
