ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik on Monday said Pakistan “did not benefit” from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, arguing that the party’s political approach had “damaged the country rather than strengthened it.”
In this regard, his statements came days after a strongly worded press conference by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who accused PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan of promoting an “anti-army narrative” that, he said, had evolved into a “national security threat.”
In such a scenario, Barrister Aqeel Malik, speaking on Geo News’ programme Capital Talk,said the PTI had “run a campaign against the country” during its tenure by writing to the IMF and lobbying US lawmakers.
He questioned what development the party had delivered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it currently governs. “Has the PTI taken a single beneficial step for Pakistan?” he asked.
Furthermore, the minister drew a sharp contrast between the policies of the PML-N and the PTI, asserting that his party had “never compromised” on national security. Malik also pointed to past statements by Imran Khan praising military leadership, noting the “contradiction” with his recent social media posts targeting Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Malik acknowledged that questions remained over the 2024 general elections but argued that unlike PTI leaders, “Nawaz Sharif did not write letters to the IMF nor engage in foreign lobbying.”
PTI Chief Whip in the National Assembly Amir Dogar rejected the “security threat” allegations, calling them politically motivated. “No power can stop Imran Khan,” he said, adding that the party had withstood years of pressure.
So far. Dogar also compared Imran’s treatment to historical cases in which national leaders, including Fatima Jinnah, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, were labelled security threats by military rulers.
Dogar further criticised Information Minister Atta Tarar, calling him a “Form 47 politician,” and questioned whether past statements by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to Indian journalists were being overlooked.
Dogar said the accounts were not controlled by the PTI or by Imran himself from jail. PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram later clarified that the posts were issued by young social media team members who had left the country after the crackdown.
The messages from Imran, he said, were written during family or legal meetings, sent abroad, and then published online without passing through the party’s media wing.
