Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The ministers and PML-N lawmakers had to return from the Supreme Court without giving a “befitting reply” to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as journalists protested against the IT minister for misbehaving with a TV reporter.

Anusha Rehman showed a stunning courage by gripping TV journalist Azam Gul from his collar, snatched his mobile phone and deleted data for making her movie.

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq did not interfere until she deleted the data. Once Anusha completed her ‘task’, Saad returned the mobile phone in a botched attempt to collect the sympathies of the media.

Later, he tried to prove that Anusha was “as innocent as a baby”. When Marriyam Aurangzeb saw Saad’s helplessness, she tried to help but to no avail.

Sources said that Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Safdar called Anusha from abroad to muster up her courage. Sources added that Maryam also praised Anusha for deleting the data promptly.

Sources also added that Anusha kept informing Maryam Safdar about the developments on the phone.

Azam Gul recorded a conversation between Anusha and Saad in which they were discussing to bring more workers to the court.

Marriyam Aurangzeb invited journalists to her office, but they instead submitted an application against the minister in the Secretariat Police Station.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has sought a report from Anusha and Saad.

Sources in PM’s House said Nawaz regretted that journalists shouted anti-government slogans but the ministers did not play their role to pacify them. Sources said the PM looked depressed.

Several ministers tried their best to lure the journalists into covering their press briefing outside the Supreme Court. However, the journalists submitted an application in the Secretariat Police Station against the IT minister.

Saad tried to settle the issue but Anusha continued threatening the journalist which led journalists to boycott the media talk of ministers. Marriyam Aurangzeb, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Daniyal Aziz and Maiza Hameed left the venue without talking to the media.

The journalists shouted anti-government slogans and reiterated their resolve to continue the protest until Anusha apolgises.

“She threatened to put me behind bars and hand me over to FIA,” alleged Gul.

Saad claimed that Anusha had taken the mobile phone as making a video inside the court was ‘illegal’. He ‘advised’ everyone to respect the law. Interestingly, the same minister was seen taking a jibe at the honourable bench of the Supreme Court at a recent PML-N convention in Lahore. Other PML-N leaders, including Talal Chaudhry, Daniyal Aziz, Maiza Hameed, Marriyam Aurangzeb and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah have time and again warned that they would not accept a decision against their leader Nawaz Sharif.