Imran Khan says he will never accept imported govt led by the corrupt elite even if it means sacrificing his life
Says those who ‘installed’ incumbent rulers in power will be held responsible for the country’s destruction
Says it was collective responsibility of entire nation & institutions to save the country from ‘thieves’
PESHAWAR ( Web News )
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday while again expressing his determination to come out against the corrupt government said that petition will be filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan tomorrow (Monday) to know if peaceful protest is the right of the democratic party or not.
Addressing a press conference after PTI Core Committee meeting on Saturday, Imran Khan said that the peaceful protest is our right and they staged protest because they do not accept the imported government.
The ex-prime minister told the judiciary that the current situation was a “test” for the judiciary as he hoped that the apex court would give clarity over holding jalsas.
“The Supreme Court had directed the government to remove all the hurdles […] but we were not ready for what the government did in response,” Khan said about the riots in the capital.
He said, “We have a track record 26 years of peaceful protest and never held violent protests, adding that PTI is the only party that doesn’t have a military wing.”
The ousted prime minister alleged that the government tried to crush a “peaceful protest”; but warned that in the next phase, PTI would come with complete preparations. “The ones who burned the trees were not our people,” the PTI chairman said, defending his party after there was an outrage for setting trees ablaze during the protest in Islamabad.
Imran Khan also clarified that his party would not establish a militant wing, adding that he did not wish for violence to take place. “They [PML-N] are fascists, whenever they come into power, they use force.”
The PTI chairman further announced that his party would get first information reports (FIR) registered against police personnel involved in stopping the rallies and would also share their photos on social media.
Imran Khan added that he had cut short the long march after witnessing anger among the people. “The people were angry on rangers as well after they used tear gas […] and we also had no idea about the way that police would use force against us.”
Despite all the issues that have taken place in the last few days, Imran Khan reiterated that the doors for negotiations should always remain open as he did not want war, but snap elections.
“We can easily hold talks with them if they announce early elections in June,” Khan said, adding: “It is not just our job to save the country, the institutions are equally responsible.”
Lashing out at the government for increasing the price of petroleum products by Rs30, the ousted premier said his regime was about to strike an agreement with Russia for cheaper oil.
“They did not carry on with the deal. Instead, coming under IMF’s pressure, they hiked the price of petrol. They could have purchased cheap oil, but they did not do that due to the fear of foreign powers.”
The PTI chairman said that he will never accept the imported government led by the corrupt elite even if it means sacrificing his life.
He said the police brutally tortured his party workers and supporters despite Supreme Court’s orders during long march, adding that his party will raise the issue of government’s brutal oppression on all forums and will seek legal help over the recent ban on protests by the “imported government”.
“If Shehbaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah would have been punished for the Model Town massacre, they wouldn’t have repeated the same against PTI workers,” said Imran Khan.
Imran Khan said that those who “installed” incumbent rulers in power will be held responsible for the country’s destruction and added that it was the collective responsibility of the entire nation and institutions to save the country from “thieves”.
“The country is heading towards destruction and it’s not only my responsibility but the responsibility of the entire nation and institutions to stop this,” he said.