ISLAMABAD, Dec 01 (APP): Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Monday accused the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of victimising political opponents, noting that its leaders even boasted abroad about removing air conditioners from prison cells.
Responding to a point of order raised by Ali Muhammad Khan, Tarar asked who had undermined the sanctity of privacy and the “chadar and char diwari,” saying his party had endured the bitterness of the PTI era. He stressed that the nation had seen who initiated political vendettas, violated privacy, and ordered partisan arrests, warning that “selective memory” must not be allowed to distort history or democratic norms.
He recalled that PTI’s founder once told an audience in the United States he would remove Nawaz Sharif’s air-conditioner and boasted of jailing Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Tarar reminded lawmakers that Pakistan had witnessed the Charter of Democracy, signed by Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto, which helped revive the country’s political process.
The minister emphasised that prison meetings are meant for legal matters, not for maligning national security institutions on social media or conspiring against the state, adding that unlawful demands would not be entertained.
He further questioned who acted as the “spoiler,” alleging that orders were issued to arrest relatives and daily lists of detainees were demanded. Officials, he said, checked each morning whether prisoners received food or medicine.
Tarar added that Shehzad Akbar, who spearheaded this bitterness, has fled the country while others face the consequences.
Tarar said history made clear who fueled confrontation and who upheld Parliament, recalling that opposition leaders once faced jail for dissent. He alleged that daily meetings at the Prime Minister’s House determined who would be humiliated, arrested, targeted, or branded.
