Pakistan's Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan is "playing with Pakistan's interests" to keep his "failed politics" alive.
The minister, who is a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, made the remarks while addressing a press conference in Lahore.
The minister said the National Security Committee (NSC) of Pakistan twice dismissed the possibility of any foreign conspiracy, however, "Imran Niazi is playing with national interests to keep his politics alive," Dawn reported.
"If Pakistan wants to be a strong country, we need to have a strong economy," he reportedly said, adding, "That can only happen when we align ourselves with the global economy."
The comments come at a time when Imran Khan, who was ousted following a historic no-confidence motion in the country, has been addressing rallies in various cities making claims that he was ousted as a result of a foreign-backed conspiracy.
Iqbal, in his presser, termed the frequent mentions of "conspiracy" by the ex-PM the "rona-virus", vowing the country would move forward and the coalition government would fix all issues facing the country.
Iqbal alleged that when the PTI was in power, it had hampered the CPEC's progress and soured ties with the European Union, the United States and even brotherly Muslim countries, risking the isolation of the country.
"We have to set Pakistan on the path of (development, like) Malaysia, Turkey, China and South Korea," Iqbal said.
The PML-N leader also accused the PTI of trying to pressurise the Election Commission of Pakistan in an alleged attempt to influence the foreign funding case.
On Saturday, Imran Khan had called on Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja to resign, accusing him of bias.
Raja subsequently said there was no valid reason to do so and would remain in his position in the best interests of the country.
The minister stated there would be no "false cases" against Imran and only "genuine cases" would be lodged. "Evidence will guide all our actions," he said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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