ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said the nation has understood the difference between the interest of Nawaz Sharif and national interest.
On a social media website Twitter, the minister emphasized that politics and crime must be separated. He said that the red line should be accepted in the national interest of Pakistan and politics. The supporters of Nawaz Sharif will also have to realize this difference, he added.
سیاست اور جرم کو الگ رکھنا ہوگا۔ سیاست اور پاکستان کے قومی مفاد میں سرخ لکیر کو ماننا ہوگا۔ نوازشریف کے مفادات اور قومی مفادات میں فرق قوم سمجھتی ہے۔ نوازشریف کے حواریوں کو بھی یہ ماننا پڑے گا۔
— Senator Shibli Faraz (@shiblifaraz) November 1, 2020
Earlier, addressing a press conference, he said certain elements from opposition parties have spoken against the state institutions for securing their vested interests.
He reiterated that the government will not allow anyone to give statements against the state institutions and damage the country’s image.
The Minister said former Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq’s anti-state statement provided the Indian media an opportunity to unleash propaganda against Pakistan.
The elements, which are harming the country, will be held accountable, and in this regard, legal options are being deliberated upon, he added. The Minister said the PDM is following the narrative of destabilizing the country.
However, he said, the saner elements within the opposition parties do not agree to the narrative of their leaders, which aims at stoking instability in the country. He said there is also public resentment over the statements made against the state institutions.
On Friday, Talking to Twitter, the information minister said, “The remarks by Ayaz Sadiq are beyond apology. Now the law will take its course. Weakening the state is an unforgivable crime for which Ayaz Sadiq and his companions must be punished.”
The information minister was referring to Sadiq’s statement made in the National Assembly, in which he suggested that the PTI government had released Indian pilot Abhinandan in capitulation, fearing an imminent attack from India.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had begged the Opposition to release Abhinandan or else India would attack Pakistan at 9:00 pm, Ayaz Sadiq alleged.
The former NA Speaker said, “India never attacked Pakistan but the government nonetheless handed over Abhinandan to Indian authorities.”
A day later, in his defense, Ayaz Sadiq lambasted the Indian media for distorting his comments. “One thing is clear: Abhinandan did not come to Pakistan to distribute sweets; he had attacked Pakistan,” the PML-N leader said.
