Daily Times

Senator Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said political leaders faced hardships during their struggles for democracy in the history of the country but none of them used the language being used by Imran Khan. He demanded Imran Khan to take back his recent statement about country and army as we were nothing without our homeland.

Senator Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry criticized the government and said the PTI had not instituted corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardai or other PPP leaders. The PTI had provided full protection to various long marches including that of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

Senator Faisal Javed, defining patriotism, termed former Prime Minister Imran Khan the most loyal leader of the country as he made many a historic decision during his tenure.

He said it was Imran Khan who said “absolutely not” and refused to provide bases to a foreign country, directed to fire the drone attack if found into the airspace of Pakistan and raised Kashmir issue at all international fora.

Senator Shibli Faraz, defending Imran Khan’s talks, said they were being misinterpreted for political point-scoring by the treasury benches. He, accusing the incumbent government for bringing economic meltdown in the country, seconded the statement of his leader Imran Khan that strong economy was must for a strong defense.

Senator Mushtque Ahmed, taking part in the discussion, said that Imran Khan’s statement was totally unacceptable as it was not in the interest of the country.

He proposed to build a consensus in a bid to bring the country at the road to progress through political stability as it would help remove economic constraints and make country’s defense invincible. He said we should adopt constructive measures for getting rid of inflation, unemployment, illiteracy and other issues leaving aside our personal and political interests.

Senator Azam Swati said Imran Khan was perturbed over country’s economic situation and price hike in the country.

Senator Imamuddin Shouqeen said his party leadership always respected the verdicts of superior judiciary and never criticized it as an institution.

Senator Mohsin Aziz said Imran Khan was the first Muslim leader, who raised the issue of Islamophobia at the United Nations in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly in 2019.

Senator Rubina Khalid criticized Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister for issuing irresponsible statements. Terror incidents had increased by 40 percent and the PTI leadership was hatching conspiracies against the federation while sitting in cozy drawing rooms.