- PTI chief says party will resist all sorts of NROs
SEHWAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Monday reiterated his demand for early elections, saying the government should announce early election instead of protecting ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.
Talking to reporters in Sehwan, Imran said the party’s call for early elections is not a personal demand, but “a need of the hour”. He replied to the criticism on his snap-elections demand, saying, “If I am demanding snap elections, then what has the security establishment to do with this.”
In reference to current accountability process against the Sharif family, Imran Khan said he would bring the nation out on roads if any new sort of National Reconciliation Order (NRO) was struck with the Sharif family, as entire stood with him against the corrupt mafia.
He also reproached the incumbent prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and the government for siding with “the accused person [Nawaz Sharif]”. Imran took a jibe at Nawaz Sharif’s ‘mujhy kyun nikala [Why was I disqualified] mantra, saying Sharif had stashed Rs300 billion abroad, which is why he was being held to account.
On Nawaz-Zardari relations, he said Zardari’s demand of Nawaz Sharif’s arrest was just a ploy to distract people from real issues ahead of the general elections. He said the Sharif brothers used the same trick when Zardari was in power by saying they would retrieve every penny from Zardari, and now, after four years of silence, Zardari is returning the favour.
Blasting the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) again at their home ground, the PTI chief was the PPP was afraid of change in the province, adding that it will lose Sindh after the upcoming general elections. He said the people of Sindh have no freedom, adding they were being treated like slaves and the PPP is using police to coerce them into subjugation. PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur were exploiting police for political gains, Imran alleged.
Speaking on the issue of PTI leader Jahangir Tareen, the PTI chief said the heads of institutions such as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Federal Board of Revenue are appointed by the ruling party and that these institutions are different from the Supreme Court, which is an independent institution. Imran Khan further stated that it was his democratic right to criticise the ECP and protested the issuance of warrants against him by an anti-terrorism court (ATC).
Imran also mentioned the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in a passing reference, saying the party can only be redeemed if it severs the connections with its founder Altaf Hussain. It may be mentioned here last month the PTI approached the MQM-P in a bid to win their support in ousting the National Assembly Opposition leader Khursheed Shah. The attempt was however failed as PTI itself was divided over the nomination of the candidate for the slot.
Lambasting the Sindh government for barring him from entering the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, he said no one needs permission from anyone to visit shrines, but still he was barred from entering it without any valid reason.
While speaking to a big gathering on Sunday, Imran Khan lambasted Pakistan People’s Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari along with Nawaz Shairf on their alleged corrupt practices, saying after Nawaz Sharif it was now Zardari’s turn to face accountability and that “Zardari and corruption have become synonyms”.
Zardari duped people using the slogan of ‘roti, kapra and makaan’ [food, clothes and house] while Nawaz kept chanting that he will make Pakistan an Asian Tiger, he said. Country’s “biggest dacoits” Nawaz and Zardari have looted Pakistanis, he claimed, adding that because of these politicians policies every Pakistani has a debt of Rs120,000.
