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ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has alleged that statements about corruption in Punjab are aimed at creating space for an “alternative arrangement” by discrediting the government, so that a “fresh team” could subsequently be presented as an alternative.
Speaking in an interview with a private television channel, he said some business tycoons had also become active over the past eight to 10 months, carrying “carpetbags”, and appeared to be working towards forming a new group.
He said general election was due in two years and some people believed that the current political generation was ageing and might retire or choose not to contest the next elections. Those around the age of 50, including influential business figures, might be trying to form a new political group, he added. “Corruption exists across Pakistan and an ordinary citizen faces it morning and evening,” Asif said.
Responding to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s remarks about him, the defence minister said he had also responded to the religious leader. He said ideological differences were natural but should not create such bitterness that political opponents became unwilling even to exchange greetings. “There should be no double-dealing even amid ideological differences,” he said, adding that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had injected considerable bitterness into the country’s political environment during its four years in power.
Asif rejected suggestions that he had ever been involved in a “fixed game”, saying he had neither played such games nor was he familiar with them. He also expressed doubt that the government would withdraw or close cases that had already been reopened. “If we play such a fixed game, we will have to pay the price, not Maulana Sahib,” he said.
The defence minister also criticised Fazlur Rehman for his political association with the PTI, recalling that the JUIF chief had previously described the party as a “Zionist entity”. Asif said it was ironic that a party once labelled as “Zionist” by Fazlur Rehman had now found shelter under his political umbrella. He questioned whether the PTI was no longer considered an agent of Israel, given what he described as the cordiality between the two sides.
Referring to the political differences between the PMLN and PPP, Asif said their criticism of each other had centred on corruption. Such exchanges had taken place in the past and would continue, he added, distinguishing them from Fazlur Rehman’s earlier allegations against the PTI.
Earlier, while speaking to a group of senior journalists on the occasion of 72nd anniversary of Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) Day reception, the defence minister offered an olive branch to JUI leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, making it clear that he harboured no ill will towards him. “I flared up in the National Assembly when JUI women members disrupted my speech and began hurling baseless allegations,” he said.
Referring to his longstanding association with the Maulana, Asif explained that his rejoinder was in response to the speech delivered by the JUI leader a day earlier.
