ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Monday said that he is happy that PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar had the courage to question Maryam Nawaz’s leadership but he is still angry at the former interior minister, ARY News reported.
In an exclusive interview with ARY News, the PTI chief maintained that he is not totally happy with Nisar as he ordered the law enforcers to fire shells at PTI workers during the party’s 2014 sit-in.
When asked if the disgruntled PML-N leader is in contact with him, Imran Khan said so far he has no contact with the former interior minister.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the former interior minister, last week had said that he could not accept Maryam Nawaz as his political leader.
“A child is a child, how can I accept her (my) leader? Her role is so far restricted to daughter of my friend only,” he had said during a television interview.
‘Supreme Court’s Victory’
Commenting on Sunday’s NA-120 by-polls, Imran Khan said that the election was Supreme Court’s victory as PML-N didn’t get any extra votes and their lead against PTI diminished to a great extent.
“If they didn’t get any sympathy vote even in their stronghold, it is a great victory for judiciary in Pakistan,” said the PTI chief.
He, however, accepted his party’s defeat and said the lead PML-N secured would have been lesser if PTI had started their election campaign a little earlier and would have publicised it.
PML-N candidate Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sunday won the closely contested by-election for her husband Nawaz Sharif’s ‘home seat’ NA-120 on Sunday.
According to unofficial and unverified results, Kulsoom Nawaz managed to attain 61,254 votes, while her competitor, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s Dr. Yasmin Rashid attained 47,066 votes.
Maryam Nawaz described it as people’s verdict against the SC decision to disqualify former PM Nawaz Sharif.
‘Impossible to disqualify me under Article 62 (1) (f)’
Answering a question, he said that it is impossible to disqualify him under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution of Pakistan as he is not a thief and he has never laundered money.
Under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, a person cannot be qualified as member of the national or provincial legislatures, if he is not ‘Sadiq and Ameen’ – truthful and trustworthy.
A petition, filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi, is being heard by a three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and includes Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
The petition seeks disqualification of PTI chief Imran Khan and Secretary General Jahangir Tareen for non-disclosure of assets, ownership of offshore companies and for the party being a foreign-funded party.
