ISLAMABAD: Ataullah Tarar, a special assistant to the prime minister, said the Punjab government booked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders as an act of “revenge” for the investigation against Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff to former prime minister Imran Khan, over his “seditious” commentary on ARY News.
Talking to the press outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) where the PML-N leaders came to submit their requests for protective bail, Tarar said Pervaiz Elahi, the chief minister, was ruling over a Punjab where dacoities were on the rise.
He warned the Punjab government of the consequences of what he said was political retribution.
The wanted PML-N lawmaker, apart from Tarar, include his brother Bilal Tarar, Awais Leghari, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Saif ul-Malook Khokhar, Mirza Javed, Abdur Rauf, Pir Ashraf Rasool, Pir Khizar Hayat Khagga, Raja Sagheer Ahmad, Bilal Farooq, and Rana Manan.
Tarar dubbed Elahi a puppet and a toy whose key was in the hands of Khan. He said the Punjab government was being run from Bani Gala.
He was of the view that cases against the PML-N leaders in Punjab were registered in revenge as the Islamabad police arrested Gill.
He dared the Punjab government to produce proof against them if it had any.
Tarar further informed the media that authorities did not let Khan meet Gill at the Pakistan Institute Of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Friday because the latter came without submitting a prior request for the meeting.
On this occasion, Ahmad Khan, another “wanted” lawmaker of the party, said it was the time to reject the whims of the “ladla” as they were against the interests of the country.
