Imran Khan says his party’s long march will resume from Tuesday from Wazirabad district
Says he wants a transparent investigation into the Wazirabad incident but an FIR has not been registered yet
Welcomes demand for a judicial commission by PM Shehbaz Sharif
LAHORE ( Web News )
Pakistan Tekreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan said on Sunday that his party’s long march will resume from Tuesday from Punjab’s Wazirabad district- the same point where he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt last Thursday.
While addressing a press conference from the Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore, the PTI chief said that he will address the march every day and that in the next 10-14 days the rally will reach Rawalpindi from where he will lead the party’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ march.
Imran Khan called on his supporters to reach Rawalpindi as an announcement of the long march’s resumption, saying that the reason the Pakistani nation is treated as beggars is not because of the lack of resources but due to a lack of justice.
“It is time to realise Haqeeqi Azadi. All of you should come and reach Rawalpindi when I join the party and lead [the march.”
The former premier said that he wants a transparent investigation into the Wazirabad incident but an FIR has not been registered yet.
“[The] FIR hasn’t been registered because they [the police] say we are ready to register a case against the PM and [interior minister] Rana Sanaullah but not Major General Faisal Naseer,” he claimed.
During the press conference, the PTI chief said that he has a few questions that he wants to be answered. “First, there are people in Pakistan that are above the law, does the Constitution allow this?”
Reiterating that three people were involved in his assassination bid, Imran Khan demanded a transparent investigation and maintained that only a probe would determine “the truth”.
“It is my right to register an FIR against them,” he said, adding that how is it possible that a Punjab police under the provincial government “keep on giving excuses” and not registering a case.
Referring to the DG ISPR’s statement made, Imran Khan said that it was “shocking” that the military’s media wing spokesperson said that criticising a military official was akin to defaming the Pakistan Army.
This means if I say a judge is wrong, this means the entire judiciary is wrong. If someone says there is a corrupt person in PTI and I say that you have said that the entire party is corrupt. Is there any logic?” Imran Khan asked.
“Mr DG ISPR, have you noticed what you are saying? This means if I say a judge is wrong it would mean the entire judiciary is wrong, and if someone says there is a corrupt person in [the] PTI and I would say that you have said that the entire party is corrupt. Is there any logic?” he asked.
He further questioned, while addressing the DG ISPR, “why does the army then carry court-martials?”, adding that it is because an officer does something wrong which is why such a practice is carried.
Imran Khan claimed that an attack on him was a conspiracy conspired by the three men he had accused of being behind it. “It is my right to register a case. I am the ex-PM of the country,” he added.
“If I can’t register an FIR, how can any individual do it?” he said, adding that only the powerful in this country are above the law and “layman gets no justice”.
During the media talk, the former prime minister welcomed the demand for a judicial commission by Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
“I welcome the judicial commission but what will it do? The three people that I have named are above the agencies that will investigate this assassination attempt. How can we do an impartial investigation? This is why I said that I want these people to resign so that the investigation is carried out transparently. It is possible that I’m wrong but I want a transparent investigation,” added the PTI chief.
The deposed prime minister then said that this is a pattern and it started when a video was released alleging me of blasphemy.
“This investigation should unfold who released that video, which was then followed by a journalist picking it up, who is affiliated to a party, and it later led to Marriyum Aurangzeb and Javed Latif holding a press conference,” he said.
He claimed that is why he registered an FIR against the two PML-N leaders because he knew that they will use this accusation of blasphemy and “try to get me killed just the way former governor Punjab Salman Taseer was murdered”.
The PTI chairman furthered that as soon as the incident of his attack took place, tweets were posted without any investigation that a religious fanatic did this.
“The video interview of the attacker was then leaked… police say they were pressurised, the IG says it was hacked,” he said, adding that all these “lies” started pouring but only a transparent investigation will tell who wanted to cover up.
Imran Khan added that he thinks that nothing is better than a judicial commission but the first thing it should consider is how people who are accused are allowed to hold office where an independent investigation will take place.
Talking about slain journalist Arshad Sharif, Imran Khan said he wants the commission to also inquire into the anchorperson’s killing. “Arshad Sharif’s mother knows from whom he was threatened…. Why was he forced to leave this country? Why was he forced to leave Dubai and move? All these questions need to be answered,” he added.
Imran Khan furthered that the third thing that he wants to point out is the cipher controversy.
“The DG ISPR said the cipher was a drama. If it was a drama then why isn’t an investigation being carried out?” he said.
He furthered that when the National Security Council had also confirmed that a cipher was received and had issued a demarche then why is DG ISPR saying that this was “a drama?”
He then addressed the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) and said that until he investigates “how will we know if this was a conspiracy or an intervention?”
Talking about the indecent video PTI Senator Azam Swati’s wife had received, the PTI chief urged the CJP to also investigate the incident.
“The nation has been moved after the video incident. The CJP must investigate this matter,” he said.
“The “usual suspects” tried covering it up by saying the video was fake but Swati has an original video and it is not fake,” Imran said, adding that the senator will sit outside the Supreme Court and demand justice. He maintained that other PTI senators will accompany Swati in the sit-in outside the apex court.
Earlier, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet that the party chief will address a press conference today, adding that it is hoped that the former prime minister will be allowed to go home from the hospital by this evening.
He furthered that the call for protest has been suspended today in view of Raiwind’s Ijtimah (prayer gathering).
“Imran Khan will hold a press conference today, it is hoped that he will be allowed to go home from the hospital by this evening. However, the doctors have not yet discharged him from the hospital. The call for protest has been suspended today in view of Raiwind’s Ijtimah,” he said in a tweet.