Defence Minister Khawaja Asif hit out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, alleging that the opposition party was begging “someone else” for relief after the retirement of former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, Geo News reported.
The senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader took a dig at Mr Khan, saying, “Hardly anyone has licked as many shoes as the PTI founder.”
Addressing the National Assembly, Khawaja Asif cited the remarks of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Aun Chaudhry. He alleged that Imran Khan was taken to the house of General (retired) Amjad Awan after hiding him in the trunk of a car.
Mr Asif further claimed that the jailed PTI founder made every desperate plea to get relief.
“After Bajwa sahab, they (PTI) are now trying to grab someone else’s feet. Hardly anyone has licked as many shoes as the PTI founder,” Geo News quoted the federal minister as saying.
These remarks came in response to PTI Secretary General Umar Ayub Khan’s address in the lower house of parliament in which he criticised the federal government for presenting a budget against the interests of the nation and the country.
Mr Ayub, who is also the opposition leader in the National Assembly, said, “This budget has been prepared by an economic hitman.”
Taking a dig at Ayub, Asif said his speech reminded him of his 20-year-old statements in which he used to praise PML-N leaders Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif in the same way as he used to praise PTI founder Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister said that PML-N will welcome it if PTI apologises for the May 9 riots that took place after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The PML-N leader also criticised the opposition party for writing a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), asking the global lender to link the audit of alleged rigging in the elections to its funding, Geo News reported.
He said, “After being ousted from power, PTI wanted the country to become incapable of repaying its debts.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)