Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday strongly condemned the placement of Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz on the no-fly list and the arrest of Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Salman Rafique in a housing society scam. Reacting to the recent streak of arrests by the government, the former information minister said that the government had failed the people of Pakistan in its very first 100 days, and it was using distraction tactics through political victimization. Marriyum said that Hamza neither boarded the plane nor was he offloaded. “Hamza was told at the immigration counter than his name was black-listed for travel and that he could not leave the country upon which he turned back and went home,” she maintained. She questioned the government’s alleged double standards, saying that Zulfi Bukhari was flown out of the country despite being placed on the ECL, while Hamza was barred from flying abroad. “The ruling PTI is taking revenge on the Sharif family.” She questioned the rationale of the travel ban on Hamza. “This act of the government is not about law or rules, but is a ruthless, bloodthirsty witch-hunt, which violates all legal reasoning in the most lethal abuse of power ever witnessed in the country.” The former minister said that the PML-N would challenge all illegal actions on relevant legal forums. She said that the NAB should also probe cases against PTI leaders, including the alleged money laundering by Jahangi Tareen and Rs 80 billion Peshawar metro bus scandal.She demanded that the prime minister should make the performance of ministers public if he believed in such an approach instead of staging a media stunt. “This incompetent hoard of thieves and pathological-lairs know nothing about governing and running a country other than their policy of chicken, eggs and calves on steroids. Just because PTI is a complete failure and they know it, they have resorted to the worst political witch-hunt in the history of the country to distract the attention of the people away from their disastrous rule,” Marriyum concluded. Published in Daily Times, December 12th 2018.