Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan while talking about the Asma Jahangir (AJ) Conference that took place in Lahore last week, pointed out how the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo was allowed to address the event, reports Geo News.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony PM Khan further said, “Unfortunately, due to colonialism, Muslims suffered from mental slavery around the world,” he said.
He further added that Pakistan’s youth was confused about it in today’s world and said that the young Pakistanis studied the Western culture and were misled by it.
The premier urged universities to research the disastrous effects that Western culture was having on family life, and spoke out against how pornographic material was widely available on smartphones these days.
PM Khan said, “A seminar happened in Lahore where Supreme Court (SC) judges were invited. But the chief guest there was an absconder, convicted by the very judges present there.”
“This person had escaped abroad after lying,” he said while adding that if our society doesn’t consider corruption an evil, it can’t progress.
However, the AJ Foundation in a press statement clarified the rumours surrounding Sharif’s closing speech.
“Nawaz Sharif, has addressed gatherings previously and it is entirely regrettable not to say embarrassing, that internet cables were disabled to blackout his speech. This act in itself is an indication of the state of freedom of expression in the current regime where Pakistan is ranked as 145 out of 180 countries,” reads the statement.
They also revealed that several prominent members of the ruling party were invited to all three conferences, many of whom spoke at all three conferences, and others declined the invitation.
Furthermore, they argued that the “ruling regime is diverting attention from the real threat to institutions, the state of the economy and freedom of expression in the country” while adding that the platform will not follow vendettas of political parties when inviting speakers and they will remain an open and uncensored platform.
In response to this, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari termed the foundation’s statement “bizarre” and tweeted, “AJ Foundation claiming that convict Sharif being asked to address the conference did not show a political bias because I [Mazari] had been invited to the first conference to address closing session is absurd. I was invited as Human Rights Minister. I was not and am not a convict or a fugitive.”
