Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday hinted that the upcoming local government (LG) elections in Punjab may be held on non-party basis.
Speaking to journalists after attending proceedings in the defamation case filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif against the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan. The case concerns allegations made by the PTI founder against the prime minister.
Tarar said that local government elections in the province should be held on time and that the provincial minister for local bodies was already working on the matter.
He noted that such non-party-based local elections had been held in the past as well, adding that the government had empowered local representatives at the district and municipal levels.
About the case, Tarar said the PTI founder had levelled baseless accusations against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including a claim that he was offered Rs10 billion to drop the Panama Papers case.
“These allegations were repeated at multiple forums, but even after eight years, the statements of all witnesses have not yet been recorded,” he said.
The minister added that a similar individual who made false allegations in London had already been proven a liar and fined for making baseless claims against the security forces on social media.
“The PTI founder and his associates have always done politics of allegations. The narrative of a convicted liar sitting in jail will never be accepted,” Tarar stated.
He went on to say that the PTI founder, currently serving his sentence in Adiala Jail on corruption charges, had nothing left to defend himself.
“He is a certified liar who has always practiced hypocritical politics,” Tarar said, adding that the PTI founder even supported extremists and once claimed that Pakistan would become like Sri Lanka.
The minister also criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister for sharing a video of himself attacking the Corps Commander House, saying, “You cannot hide behind your position as chief minister.”
Tarar explained that the defamation suit was filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in July 2017 and that lawyers representing the PTI founder had sought adjournments around 120 times to delay the proceedings.
“Today, the PTI founder’s lawyer, Mian Muhammad Hussain Chotya, was not present in Lahore, but we recorded our statement,” he said.
He further revealed that the government had submitted the scripts and USB recordings of television programmes where the PTI founder repeated his “false and fabricated” accusations.
“His lawyers now have nothing left to present,” Tarar remarked, expressing optimism that after eight years of delays, the case would finally see progress.
Responding to a separate question, the federal information minister said that constitutional amendments were under consideration to strengthen the judicial system in the country.
