Imran Khan addresses rally at Taunsa Sharif, Punjab on Saturday. PHOTO: PTI
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has said that Nawaz Sharif has gone, and Shehbaz Sharif will also go as the Hudabiya Papers Mills case has been reopened.
Imran said this while addressing a large public gathering in Taunsa in Dera Ghazi Khan on Saturday.
“I was ignorant of the fact that so many people live in Taunsa and they are aware of the problems faced by Pakistan,” he said.
Citing justice as the biggest indicator of a civil society, he said that in the animal kingdom, “the rule of the survival of the fittest prevails.”
He said that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) set the best example for coming generations by saying “all are equal before the law in Madina”. He said that it was during the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that pensions were given to widows, orphans and the elderly. He said it was these values that civilised an ignorant nation, creating leaders that were still praised.
Khan said that Islam was not spread through the sword but it was the values and the superior moralities that were propagated in the state of Madina which compelled people to embrace Islam.
نواز شریف کے بعد شوباز شریف کی باری ہے،عمران خان#TaunsaKaptaanDa pic.twitter.com/MHaMuSLtYS
— PTI Multan (@PTIOfficialMTN) November 11, 2017
The crowd at this point chanted ‘go Nawaz go’ to which Khan replied that he was gone now and would never come back. He added that now that the Hudabiya Paper Mills case had reopened, Shehbaz Sharif would be ousted too.
Addressing Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khan said he should announce immediate elections both for the sake of democracy and for Pakistan’s people. He also criticised Abbasi for supporting Sharif, questioning his morality and lamenting the protocol provided to the ousted premier.
He said if the PTI was elected to power, a system would be established whereby people’s taxes would be spent on them. He alleged that 60% of Punjab’s development fund was allocated to Lahore only.
“The PTI will ensure that the 100 million people living below the poverty line also get their due share,” he said, adding that just because Lahore is the Sharif family’s home, they spend most of the budget on it.
Khan said that China reduced poverty by empowering their farmers and Pakistan needed to do the same “as 70% of our population constitutes farmers”.
After Nawaz’s ouster, Imran targets Zardari
“Poverty is the main cause of a huge influx of people to Lahore from the villages, which is worsening the situation in the city,” he said, adding that smog was not being taken care of and that coupled with the increased pollution had even made simple things like visibility zero. “People do not have access to clean water… hospitals are in deplorable conditions.”
The PTI, he said, would spend more time developing villages instead of cities and ensure jobs for the people. He said that a college like Namal University would be established in Taunsa.
Khan informed the participants that 95% of the students at Namal University were studying on scholarships while 91% of the students got jobs right after they graduated. He stressed the need for skills-based education which in turn would also help eliminate poverty.
He claimed that the PTI would improve the tax system, while saying that 90% of today’s taxes were collected through inflation. He added that the rich and powerful evaded taxes by stashing their money in offshore accounts. “The public bears the brunt of the debts incurred by the likes of Nawaz Sharif and its money is still spent abroad,” he said.
‘Rs10b bribe offer’: Shehbaz files defamation suit against Imran
“China is making progress on a war-footing basis because it has nabbed 300 of its corrupt ministers and chucked them into jail. A total of 1.1 million government officials were also thrown out of office because they were corrupt. The PTI will ensure that the corrupt individuals are brought to justice so that the money laundering stops and we actually progress as a nation.”
The PTI chief urged the people of Taunsa not to vote for leaders not keeping their money or properties in Pakistan, while also asking them to socially boycott them.
PTI vice chairperson Shah Mahmood Qureshi during his address said that the people of South Punjab had been suffering because their decisions are weaken in Islamabad and Lahore. He said the people of Multan kept saying they did not need a Metro Bus project but water, jobs and policies they can depend on.
Qureshi said that even though it was estimated that 0.1 million people would benefit from the metro bus, “only 7,000 people use it, causing losses in billions of rupees”.
He said that under the PTI’s government, people would be given the right to decide their own faith and these decisions would be given priority.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ