Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi has denied the release of any written content from Adiala jail where PTI founder Imran Khan is incarcerated.
“Our initial response on the matter is to write to them [The Economist] to regret that they tarnished their image by publishing such scandalous content. Additionally, we will ask them that how they got the content from a man who has been convicted and remains in jail,” he told Shaukat Piracha on Rubaroo on Friday.
According to Solangi, government investigations revealed that no such article has came out of the prison facility. However, he said that it was not established who exactly wrote the piece.
In an apparent jibe at PTI over its narrative regarding the US, he said that the PTI could not decide whether to fight the US or seek their help.
“They [PTI] hired lobbing firms in the US and contacted several congressmen to tell them that they are not against the US. They also cannot decided if the conspiracy against them was exported from the US or it was hatched in Pakistan,” he said while responding to a question regarding the discussion in State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller’s press briefing.
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On resolution approved in the Senate, he said that he was not given opportunity to speak in the house despite asking the Senate chairman twice to be allowed to speak on the resolution.
“I was not empowered by the federal cabinet to support the resolution. The government is standing behind the Election Commission of holding elections on February 8,” he added.
Although the concerns raised by the Senators were real, however, the caretaker government was not empowered to delay elections, he added.
“Only ECP has the authority to give date of election or extend it under Article 218(3) of the Constitution. No other institution including the administration has the authority to do it,” he added.
Solangi denied having evidence that the resolution was presented by the Senators to conspire against timely elections, saying “I will give them benefit of doubt that they honestly believed the issues were present which they pointed out.”
