KARACHI: Information Minister Shibli Faraz here on Wednesday once again emphasized that Prime Minister Imran Khan or the government has nothing to do with the FIR against Nawaz Sharif and other PML-N leaders for sedition.
While speaking to the media, he said, “We have nothing to do with the incident you are mentioning. Anyone in this country can get up and file an FIR against someone. “The government is not [involved] in this. It is focused on working for the people and their welfare.”
The minister’s comments come days after Lahore police registered an FIR against Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and other top PML-N leaders for sedition among other charges.
The opposition was quick to blame the government for what it perceived as another attempt at political victimisation. It also emerged that the complainant in the case had a criminal record and is allegedly the ruling PTI’s Labour Wing office-bearer.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider was also initially nominated in the case. However, the Punjab government said on Tuesday it had decided to strike off Haider’s name from the FIR but would proceed as per the law against the remaining people nominated in the case.
Faraz said that the purpose of the rallies announced by the opposition under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had one goal: to divert attention away from the corruption of their leaders and to pressurise the government into giving them relief.