CHISHTIAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Sunday that his party faced more threats from within than from the outside.
Addressing party workers in Chishtian, Khan assailed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). “The PTI faces more threats from within than those posed by its political opponents,” he said.
Khan said that there was no difference between Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari. “They are the same. Only their methods of corruption are different,” he said.
The PTI chief claimed that the people of Pakistan had more political wisdom now. “They understand now that corruption has not been eliminated from Pakistan due to the corrupt rulers. How can an SHO and a patwari be expected to act honestly when the country’s leaders are themselves corrupt?” Khan asked.
He requested National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal to investigate the foreign resident permit held by Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal.
“The entire nation has attached hopes to you [Justice (r) Javed Iqbal]. The Hudaibya Papers Mills case speaks about the corruption of all members of the Sharif family,” he said.
In his addresses, Khan also commended the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police for quickly reacting to the attack in Peshawar last week. “The KP Police has set an example for the security departments of other provinces,” he said.
Khan said that if his party came into power in Punjab in 2018, it would make Punjab Police as efficient as the KP Police.
He criticised Nawaz Sharif for trying to undermine institutions. “Nawaz claims that there has been no positive change in KP. He could have noted the change after he did not have to use a bulletproof glass while addressing a public rally in Abbottabad. This is what ‘Naya Pakistan’ is all about,” he said.
“Nawaz Sharif is willing to go to any extreme to try to undermine the judiciary and the army. He only wants to save himself from accountability and get another chance to rule the country,” he said.
“Nawaz Sharif’s ideology is to make more and more money. The Sharif family has laundered no less than Rs 300 billion so far,” he said.
Imran Khan said that Nawaz would not even hesitate to befriend arch-rival Narendra Modi to save his “ill-gotten Rs 300 billion”.
“I am sure that Sharif will do everything possible to save his Rs 300 billion transferred [abroad] through money-laundering,” he said.
“Sharif, you will compromise with anyone for this purpose. You will even befriend Modi to save your money. You will sacrifice all interests of Pakistan at the international level. You [Sharif] are the Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq of Pakistan,” he said.
He said that Nawaz Sharif was ready to ruin the judiciary of Pakistan for the sake of his personal interests, adding that he was even conspiring against his own army to save his money.
“But let me tell you Sharif, you will not be able to save this money which belongs to thousands of Pakistanis. We will bring that money back to Pakistan,” said Khan.
The PTI leader also criticised Nawaz’s political allies including Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Achakzai.
“These people stand with him because they are afraid that if Nawaz is caught and sentenced, then they will be next,” he said.
Criticising Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Imran Khan said that it was a matter of disgrace that Asif had received pay for being a legal adviser to a company in the Middle East even though he was the country’s defence minister.
“He held an iqama that bound him to work for the company for at least six to eight hours every day. So the only reason to hold the iqama was to launder money,” Imran Khan said.
Published in Daily Times, December 4th 2017.
