Imran Khan's party to initiate criminal proceeding against Marriyum Aurangzeb for her remarks against ex-PM

Lahore: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Tuesday said that it will initiate a criminal proceeding against PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb for her remarks that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan should have been 'beheaded' in 2014 to rid the country of this “fitna” (anarchist).

In a recent statement, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) central information secretary and former minister Marriyum said that the 'fitna' (anarchist) Imran Khan and some other such members of PTI should have been beheaded in 2014 when they staged a marathon sit-in in Islamabad in an attempt to topple the Nawaz Sharif government.

Her statement sparked outrage on social media with people from all walks of life condemning the PML-N leader for her insensitive comments.

"This is outrageous and unacceptable what Ms Aurangzeb has said in her hatred against Imran Khan. We are going to initiate a criminal proceeding against her," PTI's senior leader and close aide to Khan, Sher Afzal Marvat, said on Tuesday.

He said such remarks are reflective of the 'mafia mindset' of the PML-N leadership and these kinds of people are being imposed on the nation through stolen mandate.

The PML-N is likely to form a coalition government with Shehbaz Sharif its prime minister candidate amid allegations of rigging and change of results by the Election Commission of Pakistan on the direction of the establishment.

Khan's party-backed independent candidates have secured 92 seats in the National Assembly followed by the PML-N 79 and PPP 54. The PTI alleged that it had won 180 seats but the ECP changed the results on some 90 seats to benefit largely to the military's favourite PML-N.

Senior journalist Mehr Tarar condemned Marriyum for promoting a narrative of brutal vengeance.

"Such rhetoric represents a moral and political defeat for the party, emphasizing the need for constructive dialogue and engagement," she said.

Similarly, several social media users expressed shock and disbelief at her call for violence describing it as criminal and dangerous.