PML-N leader asks Imran to dissolve Punjab, KP govts if he wants fresh elections n Claims Imran launched by hostile forces to destroy politics, state institutions and moral values.

ISLAMABAD    -   Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz on Thursday said that the reli­gion card should not be used for political gains.

Maryam said that religion is a personal matter but it does not remain a personal matter when you say in rallies that voting for PML-N is a sin and voting for Imran is righteous.

The PML-N leader ex­pressed these views while talking to media persons af­ter the hearing of her appeals in Avenfield corruption ref­erence before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here.

She also asked Chairman PTI Imran Khan to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Pun­jab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa if he wants fresh general elec­tions. She added that Khan rules two provinces and he cannot escape by holding the federal government responsi­ble for everything. 

Criticizing the PTI Chairman for allegedly using religion for the sake of his personal poli­tics and perverting religious beliefs and interpretations, Maryam said that using re­ligion for your personal mo­tives is very bad and she has suffered this and Ahsan Iqbal received a bullet. In response to a question regarding PML-N leader Javed Latif’s com­ments accusing the PTI chief of attacking the basic prin­ciples of Islam by support­ing the Ahmediyya communi­ty during his tenure, Maryam avoided directly comment­ing on Latif’s comments and instead said she was against using or involving religion in politics, or for personal inter­ests. She also said that Imran Khan was launched by hos­tile forces to destroy politics, state institutions and moral values. She termed Imran “fit­na (chaos), anarchy and Paki­stan’s destruction and added that he was funded by the en­emy forces. The PML-N lead­er said that Khan brought the country to the brink of disas­ter and it would take sever­al years to restore the coun­try’s fragile economy. She further said that Prime Min­ister Shahbaz Sharif-led gov­ernment was trying to put the economy on the right track. She said that the former PTI-led government had violat­ed the agreement signed with the IMF and Pakistan has not recovered yet from the attack. She accused Khan of misus­ing taxpayers’ money. She was of the view that Khan was spending the taxpayers’ mon­ey on helicopter rides and public rallies. Responding to a question, the PML-N leader said that she does not support any decision related to hiking the prices of petroleum prod­ucts and electricity. She said that the coalition government should control it. Maryam Nawaz said that the election should be held at its sched­uled time. She regretted that a person whose hands are stained with crimes is not fac­ing any case. Responding to another question about an ex­tension in the tenure of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Maryam Nawaz said that she would comment on it when the time comes. She further said that if Imran no longer remained the blue-eyed boy of certain quarters then sorting him out is not a matter of beyond three days. Earlier, she appeared before a division of IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Jus­tice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani in her appeal against her con­viction in the Avenfield ref­erence. During the hearing, her counsel Amjad Parvez Advocate adopted the stance that the decision of the case against his client rests on the report of Robert William Rad­ley and the expert’s report can be secondary evidence, not primary.