Nawaz must answer for defaming army: Imran

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will have to answer for the allegations levelled against the army in the Dawn Leaks scandal.

“The prime minister of a democratic state should be answerable to the nation if he criticises the country’s armed forces when they are engaged in war,” he said at the PTI’s Huqooq-e-Karachi March on Sunday.

Khan led the rally from Mazar-e-Quaid to Jail Chowrangi. PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Arif Alvi, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Faisal Vawda, Ali Zaidi, Imran Ismail and other local leaders accompanied him.

Khan said, “I have never seen a leader defaming his own military. There remains no difference between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

After allegations of bribery, Khan took another jab at Premier Nawaz by labelling him the “godfather of corruption”.

“I promised the people of Karachi to raise my voice for them, but I was too busy fighting the godfather of corruption responsible for bad governance in the country,” he said.

The PTI chief said, “When the Supreme Court’s judges had declared him dishonest and a liar he has no reason to remain the prime minister. We all should demand his resignation.”

Responding to the remarks made by the premier a day earlier, he said, “Nawaz should be ashamed of making such remarks against women. He [Nawaz] should not forget that it was Kulsoom Nawaz [his wife] who led the movement for him when he was imprisoned.”



Women’s role should not be criticised as women like Benazir Bhutto and Fatima Jinnah have done remarkably well for the politics and society, Khan said.

Criticising the Sindh government, he said, “The reason why the provincial government failed to control the law and order situation in the city is because of political appointments and influence in the police department. Just recently Sindh IG AD Khawaja demanded the same policing system as in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa (K-P), which is an endorsement of our belief that our system in K-P is much better than in other provinces.”

He said, “Not only IG Khawaja, but Mayor Wasim Akhtar has also praised the local bodies’ system of K-P and demanded a similar one in Sindh. The local bodies in Sindh are of no use as their powers lie with the provincial government.”

Turning his guns on Karachi Khan said, “It saddens me to see the city in such a deteriorated condition - waste lying on roads, sewage overflowing, dilapidated roads and no mass transit system for transportation.”

The city provides more than 60 per cent of the total revenue yet its condition is miserable, he added.

Recalling his cricket days, Khan said, “This city was once known for its lights, night life and tourism when we used to roam around during late hours. Unfortunately different mafias have ruined that peace.”

“People of Karachi should have stepped out against the mafias a long time ago, but it’s never too late,” he said. “The country has to move forward with the power of the people. It leaves a great impact on the rulers when a common man comes out to protest for his rights … the result is always in the favour of the masses.”

Referring to the rally, he congratulated the people of Karachi for coming out in such a large number for their rights.

“It is just the beginning, I will help you snatch your rights back from the rulers,” he said. “The first issue is water scarcity, then waste disposal, load shedding and policing system. All these issues are directly associated with the common man as he has every right to avail these civic facilities.”

“This city should be our Paris and the most developed as it earns for the whole country, but the whole budget is being spent by rulers themselves and laundered to foreign countries,” he added.

Separately speaking to reporters, Khan said that the person who offered him Rs10 billion on behalf of the Sharif family to look the other way in the Panamagate case was in Lahore.

Rally attacked

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has accused the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of attacking their rally in Karachi on Sunday evening.

According to PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, supporters of their arch-rival party attacked a rally as it was coming from Kemari area to join the announced Huqooq-e-Karachi gathering near Mazar-e-Quaid.

He claimed that two workers were wounded in the incident. Sheikh demanded that the police take action against those involved.

Earlier today, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan arrived in Karachi to lead a protest rally against the issues being faced by the citizens of the metropolitan city.



Announcing his plans to lead his party's Huqooq-e-Karachi March against shortages of water and power and other issues, the PTI chief said he wanted to "shake up the rulers of Sindh who are busy remitting provincial development funds to Dubai."

Political parties have escalated their campaign against the ruling PML-N following the Panamagate verdict on April 20 which ruled that the PM and his sons, Hasan and Hussain will have to appear before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to record their statements.

The apex court, however, did not disqualify the PM, citing the absence of adequate evidence in the case. The top court has given the JIT two months to complete its probe in the case.