Nawaz should have called off Turkey visit, says Imran

Says it was PM’s responsibility to announce anti-terror operation

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for leaving for Turkey while Pakistan was suffering from an upsurge in terrorist attacks.

“The Turkey visit was not as important at this stage. The country is continuously suffering because of terror attacks and the army has just announced it will conduct a very important operation against terrorism,” he told reporters at a ‘Meet the Press’ event at Peshawar Press Club.



Imran said it was the prime minister’s responsibility to formally announce the launch of a countrywide anti-terror operation. He added that the chief ministers of all four provinces should have been taken on board before launching Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad as it was not solely a federal matter.

The PTI chief, however, expressed satisfaction over the Panamagate hearing in the Supreme Court, saying he and his party were happy that a man in power had been summoned for questioning for the first time in the country’s history.



“It is a defining moment for Pakistan that a man who has been in power for the last 30 years has been investigated for corruption and money-laundering,” he said. “Now, we are hopeful that whoever becomes chief executive will be afraid of being caught before committing corruption.”

Imran added that the case had also put the credibility of the country’s investigation agencies in doubt as they could not independently investigate mega-corruption cases.



The PTI chief also condemned the blast in Lahore and criticised the government for failing to implement the National Action Plan properly. “After Operation Zarb-e-Azb, we had the opportunity to save the country from extremism and militancy, but the government’s lack of interest paved the way for the resurgence of terror.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2017.