- Urges SC to hold Maryam Nawaz accountable for misusing public funds
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram strongly condemned the reprehensible police raid at the Quetta Press Club.
“The police detained candidates shortlisted under SBK Testing Service for positions at various government-run schools unlawfully from the press club, reflecting the growing authoritarianism and lawlessness under the current illegitimate regime”, PTI CIS Sheikh Waqas Akram flayed in a statement issued on Sunday.
The strongly-worded statement stated that this brazen act of state high-handedness was yet another glaring example of the reign of terror and the law of the jungle that has become the norm in the country.
He said that this oppressive action was not only an attack on the independence of the media but also assault on freedom of expression, which was intolerable and unacceptable.
Sh Waqas emphasized that the premises of press clubs were serving as a safe space for journalists and citizens but this “illegitimate and fascist” regime was violating the sanctity of press clubs and four walls with complete impunity.
He vowed that PTI stood firmly with journalist community and demanded accountability of the abettors, facilitators and orchestrators of this heinous act so as no one ever could dare to commit such crime ever again.
PTI CIS urged that section 144 should not be imposed to ban peaceful political activities rather all such energies should be utilized to rein in the terrorists, who were martyring civilians and soldiers on daily basis.
He went on to say that the people of Pakistan were now suffering under a tyrannical system, which was hell-bent on merely silencing voices of opposition.
Sh Waqas stated that the use of state institutions to silence dissenting voices through torture, kidnapping and unlawful detentions was a shameful reflection of the current illegitimate regime’s priorities, which were focused solely on crushing opposition rather than addressing the real issues plaguing the nation.
PTI CIS lamented that the country was in the grip of terrorism, economic collapse and widespread lawlessness, yet all state institutions were being misused to keep the unjustly imprisoned Chairman Imran Khan behind bars and to dismantle PTI.
Meanwhile, PTI CIS also strongly criticized Maryam Nawaz for her wasteful use of public funds on self-projection and the promotion of her convicted father’s image at the expense of the taxpayers, adding that this blatant misuse of public resources was a slap in the face of the struggling masses, who were grappling with skyrocketing inflation, unemployment, and poverty.
Sh Waqas demanded that the Supreme Court immediately take up the petitions challenging the squandering of public funds by Maryam and hold her accountable for defying court orders.
