Islamabad - The Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada has completely rebuffed the claims made in the leaked IB letter and termed it a conspiracy not only against the honourable members but also against the country.

Riaz expressed these views during an exclusive interview to The Nation on Friday. He further said, “The fact is that we are affectees of terrorism, as three members of my family, including my father, was martyred by the terrorists while my close relatives escape life attempt.

We are against all forms of terrorism and being in the politics for the last 50 years, we have always served the masses and never considered using unfair means.” He added, “The Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in his address to the National Assembly, had declared it a dead issue, it was a fake letter and I am convinced that the concerned agency will conduct a detailed inquiry and bring the culprit to justice.”

When asked about whether it is a conspiracy within the PML-N, a majority of the names appeared in the letter mentioned in the leaked letter were from PML-Q and under tight scrutiny, Mian Riaz neither denied nor accepted it and said, “It could be the wish of some circles but as a seasoned politician and a minister, I don’t need to become part of any conspiracy.”

When asked about the rumours of a forward bloc within the ruling party, Mian Riaz said, “I am unaware of any such activity and again I will say that it could be someone’s wish to derail the democracy and sabotage the smooth functioning of the government.

When Nawaz Sharif took over the government, terrorism was on the rise and no city was safe while the economy was in tatters. We were about to bankrupt, but Nawaz Sharif strengthened the economy, load shedding is almost under control, terrorism is near to its death.”

He added that the armed forces have given huge sacrifices and it was the government and army partnership, which bore desired results.

“Civilians were the biggest victims of terrorism, south Punjab is worst hit by the banned outfits, as some countries were involved in the name of Houbara hunting, which is banned internationally, but we allowed the Arabs to hunt in South Punjab, we completely supported terrorism-free Pakistan and are ready to join hands with the armed forces to uproot this menace.”

While commenting on the way the new prime minister has handled the political situation after assuming office, he said Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is doing well as Prime Minister and we are all his subordinates.

“I refused to contest the elections when my father was martyred and when I contested, PPP and PML-N failed to get handful votes while I secured more than 70,000 votes. I enjoy the complete backing and support of my area people and I always take their hopes forward.

I don’t need to change my loyalty; when I resigned, I never said that Nawaz Sharif is not my leader, I took principle stance and never backed off.”

Commenting on the winds of change in the country he said, “Now economy is on the right track, our youth is involved in healthy activities and international sports are returning to Pakistan and time is not far when Pakistan will host all mega international events like cricket world cup, hockey world cup, and not only PSL but other international leagues will also be held in Pakistan”.