Federal Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday dispelled the impression the government had any vendetta against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying the former premier was not being victimised politically.
“Imran was arrested in a case pertaining to corruption and this is part of accountability,” he told foreign media journalists.
The PML-N leader's comments come in response to Imran’s arrest on Tuesday in the Al-Qadir Trust case and subsequent unrest in the country.
He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Imran Khan in a legal manner but PTI workers and supporters resorted to violence and anarchy in the country. “Taking the country hostage is fascism,” he said.
Mr Iqbal stressed that there were many democratic ways to protest but “this is not the way”. The actions of PTI followers were against the interest of Pakistan, the planning minister said, highlighting that schools had been closed while national institutions were being targeted.
“The miscreants will be handled by NAB because it made the arrest,” he said.
“Imran also arrested political opponents during his term as prime minister but we never resorted to such violence. This shows that Imran is on path to create chaos in society.” He said Imran wanted accountability in the country and his arrest was also a part of that.