Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to stand by its party leader Ayaz Sadiq over a controversial statement pertaining to Indian pilot Abhinandan’s release, saying Sadiq was being targetted to settle political scores.
In separate statements, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal and Rana Sanaullah defended the former National Assembly speaker and said the government was blowing his remarks out of proportion. The statement came a day after the government spokesperson accused Sadiq of committing an “unforgivable offence”.
PML-N General Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said that there was nothing illogical about Ayaz’s statement, explaining that “a weak economy translates into a weak defence”. “Accumulative national strength is reliant to an extent on armed forces and to a larger extent on its economic and foreign policy depth.”
Meanwhile, Sanaullah, who heads the party’s Punjab chapter, said the government’s attempts to link the statement with the Indian narrative were problematic.
“If Ayaz Sadiq’s choice of words was not right, where was the National Assembly speaker? The government is linking the opposition’s statements with the Indian narrative,” he remarked. The situation will get out of control if things continue in the same manner, he warned.
Meanwhile, at least two complaints were registered against the PML-N leader for issuing a controversial statement on the floor of the National Assembly. These complaints were lodged at the Civil Lines police station, Lahore, and Secretariat police station, Islamabad.
The complainants accused the lawmaker of “hurting the sentiments of the nation” and malign Pakistan on a global level.
Dunya News reported that the complainants were forwarded to the legal departments of the police for consultation and action would be taken accordingly.
On Friday, Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz hinted at legal action against Ayaz Sadiq for accusing the government of releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force (IAF) under pressure. “What Ayaz Sadiq said is not forgivable,” he tweeted, adding that law will take its course now.
