Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) leader Omar Ayub has criticized Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and accuses him of being ready for negotiations only when an ‘order’ arrives, Express News reported.
He spoke to the media outside an anti-terrorism court in Sargodha on Friday, and described the prime minister’s role as a “servant or clerk” and claimed he has no real power.
Ayub stated that PTI came to power through the public’s mandate, but pointed to government policy as the primary cause of rising inflation. He also said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would probably agree on water distribution agreements at the expense of Sindh’s people.
The PTI leader also expressed strong rejection of the recent changes to Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), where he said the government is slowing down freedom of speech.
He accused PPP of hypocrisy and noted that while the party once opposed the PECA law, it is now silent about the matter. He said that the notion of freedom of press or even freedom of speech in Pakistan has ceased to exist, with media staff who are unable to speak or write freely.
Ayub also claimed that PTI has no hope from the United States or the United Kingdom, especially in connection with Pakistan’s political crisis.
He called for Article 6 to be invoked against the former Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, and accused him of helping the current rulers in rigs.
In addition, Ayub emphasized that despite PTI’s repeated appearances in court, they remain unclear about the charges against them.
He also criticized the Government’s inaction and said his letter requesting the formation of a parliamentary committee had not yet received a response from the Prime Minister. He promised that PTI would not allow the case to be delayed further.
