Imran Khan urges ‘establishment’ & ‘judiciary’ to play their role to avoid further economic destruction & political instability in the country
Reiterates demand for ‘free and fair’ polls
LAHORE ( Web News )
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday reiterated his call for holding early elections, urging the “establishment” and “judiciary” to play their role to avoid further economic destruction and political instability in the country.
“We are afraid that everything will get out of hand if [general] elections are not held soon,” Imran Khan said while addressing his workers and supporters via video link from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
Imran Khan, who was removed from power through a vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly in April this year, also reminded his supporters about the PTI’s winning by-election despite alleged rigging. He added that his assassination was decided as a result of his party’s victorious stride.
The PTI chief said that even though his party has governments in two provinces and rules over 66% of the country, it has decided the dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.
Imran Khan once again underscored the need for snap polls, saying any delay in the process would result in country slipping out of control.
Imran Khan said he never saw such a turmoil in the country in his 70-year life. Sharing his thoughts on his ouster, Imran Khan said, “It was merely the decision of one person who wanted me out and ban on the party. “One person was responsible for the country s economic woes,” he said.
Imran Khan slammed Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, saying the country gained nothing from his [Bilawal s] visits to the US and that he did not travel to Afghanistan.
Speaking about the torture inflicted on his party stalwart Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Mr Khan said he (Mr Swati) was targeted for simply tweeting, and that he was stripped off clothes in front of children. Concerned about the rise of terrorism in the Malakand and Bannu divisions, Imran Khan slammed Pakistan s foreign policy, alleging that Foreign Minister Bilawal spent nearly Rs 2 billion on foreign trips.
Taking a swipe at the incumbent government, imran Khan said 60 per cent of the cabinet is on bail, adding that the centre has yet to pay Rs70 billion to the Punjab government. He lamented that the federal government was busy swelling the cabinet.
Speaking on his tenure, Imran Khan said, “In our regime, the people of tribal areas were getting their due financial rights. But the federal government did not give the KP, AJK, GB and Punjab their due rights”. He went on to say that if tribal areas are not given their due financial rights, terrorism will likely resurface.
Imran Khan claimed that the reason behind “this joke in Punjab” was one: “They [the coalition government] is running away from elections. The convict sitting abroad and Zardari are scared. “They have a one-point agenda to hide their theft and they will hurt the country in the process. They won’t think about Pakistan once. All they want is an NRO 2,” he alleged.
The PTI chief said that “one man’s animosity” with his party eight months ago was why the country had plunged into a crisis.
He recalled that since his ouster, the PTI and its members have been oppressed only because of “one man”. “What was our fault? Only that we refused to accept the thieves you imposed on us?”
Initially, Imran Khan pointed out, it was only the PTI. “But then the country decided to join us. This man saw that the nation was with us […].
“Never did the nation come out in huge numbers, that too again and again. It was giving one message that the imported government was unacceptable,” he said.
However, the ex-premier contended that “one man” was still apt at “destroying” his party and went to all extents. “When they saw that nothing was working out, they decided to kill me and remove me from the way.”
He then asked: “This one man, what more will you do to force us to accept the imported government?
“Videos and audios are being leaked on social media […] tell me, how low will we fall,” Imran asked, claiming that all of these things were being done to blackmail his party.
During his address, Imran also raised questions about the country’s foreign policy and criticised the government for the rising incidents of terror in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that during the PTI tenure, Pakistan had the “best relations” with the interim Afghan government which helped “put a stop” to terrorism, recalling that the country had aided evacuations from the neighbouring country.
“But today, what is happening in Malakand and Bannu […] I want to ask where is our foreign policy,” Imran said, as he called for mending ties with Afghanistan.
He also decried the lack funds provided to KP, warning that if the money was not released, the situation in the province will “go out of our hands”.
Concluding his address, Imran asked the institutions, “all those that have a stake in the country”, if they were not worried about where Pakistan was heading and its future.
“Are you not worried today that our country is heading towards a point where there will be no coming back,” he asked and then stressed that snap polls was the only solution.
“As soon as elections are held, we will get a chance to get out of this mess. Without political stability, there is no economic stability,” he added.
Prior to Imran Khan’s address, PTI’s Focal Person for Economy Hammad Azhar took a jibe at Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah saying that while he was trying to seal the Punjab CM House, PTI supporters sealed the governor’s house and has taken the governor hostage by “staging a huge protest”.
Warning the governor to beware of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Azhar said: “The people on whose dictation you are violating the Constitution will not even release a statement in your favour when needed.”