Imran alleges Nawaz was backed by army in 2013 elections

–PTI spokesperson says sharif brother will be up against each other in upcoming elections, not PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has alleged that ousted prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had the army’s help in the elections of 2013.

In an interview with Hamid Mir on a local news channel programme, Khan said that a Brigadier had been Nawaz’s aide in Punjab, accentuating that he had thought it through before making the revelation.

The PTI chief was questioned about the ex-PM’s comment: ‘Jalsa Lahore da, Majma Pishor da te agenda kisay hor da’, which translates to a rally held in Lahore, attended by a crowd from Peshawar on somebody else’s agenda.

He replied with pointing out that it was Nawaz who has always been the judiciary’s and army’s ‘ladla’. “Nawaz is unsettled now because both the army and judiciary are neutral,” he said and further added that Nawaz’s reality keeps getting exposed as the pressure adds.

“The innocent, seemingly- oppressed Nawaz disappeared, and an unusually different version of him surfaced while he was under pressure,” stated Imran Khan.

The PTI chief claimed that the Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo had indulged in every sin he speaks against. He remarked that Nawaz is the person who practically grew up in General Zia-ul-Haq’s lap and is now, all of a sudden, singing tunes of democracy and revolution.

“The media, judiciary, and armed forces had helped him. Nawaz was made a politician by Zia,” said Imran Khan.

“Nawaz always played matches with his own umpires…in 1990, 1996 and 2013 [elections],” he said further. “He has wronged the nation and had he not been protected, he would not have come so far.”

Commenting on the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Imran said that he was ready to settle the matter between the Pakistan Army and PTM.

Imran critisised the former presidents Pervez Musharraf’s decision to send the armed forces to Waziristan saying, “I was called Taliban Khan when I spoke against the decision to conduct the military operation and sending our own army against our own people,” he said.

Commenting on media censorship in Pakistan, Imran opined that: “PTI wouldn’t have been created without free media,” he said. “I struggled alone for thirteen years before the media helped my party. We got a boost from social media to rope in youth into our party.”

Though he avoided answering any questions regarding his meeting with PML-N stalwart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, he commented that a simple majority would not be obtained by any party during the National Assembly (NA) elections.

“Candidates should stand with an ideology,” he opined on independent candidates, whom he said would not add to the democracy’s strength.

Moreover, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday hinted towards a rift between the Sharif family and stated that Nawaz Sharif will be contesting against his brother Shehbaz Sharif and nephew Hamza Shehbaz in the upcoming general elections.

“Nawaz will not contest against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) but Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz,” the PTI leader said.

Taking a jibe at Nawaz’s GT Road rally which was held shortly after his disqualification, the PTI leader said, “First in Rawalpindi, Nawaz claimed that he will reveal the conspiracy that is being hatched against him, he then proceeded to Jhelum where he said the same and then in Gujranwala too.”

“Nawaz has become a victim of frustration and confusion after his disqualification and is fast headed towards his end,” the PTI leader said.