ECP in cahoots with Nawaz: PM

PM claims Nawaz will target Pakistan Army and attack judiciary to control it

KAMALIA:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was in cahoots with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, saying the former premier is planning to “attack and divide” the judiciary to consolidate his sway on institutions.

Addressing a public meeting in Punjab's Kamalia city, the prime minister warned that as soon as Nawaz Sharif lands in the country after toppling the PTI government, “he would then turn his gun towards the Pakistan Army as evidenced from his track record of developing differences with subsequent army chiefs"

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He said that Indian writer and journalist Barkha Dutt had revealed in her book that Nawaz Sharif used to hold “secret meetings” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While appealing to the citizens to reach Islamabad on March 27 (today), said the day would go down as a “decisive day” in the country's history, saying it “revive" the nation.

“Tomorrow [March 27] will be a decisive day… the biggest ever sea of people will converge in the capital to give the message to these criminals (opposition) that their days of looting and plundering are over," PM Imran said.

The embattled prime minister’s feisty statement comes as both the government and opposition leaders brace for a potentially heated chapter in the political landscape as they lurch closer towards the fateful no-confidence vote.

“When a nation stands for the right against the evil, it is revived,” he said, adding that the whole nation should raise its voice to root out the menace of corruption.‘Opp has increased my popularity’While lashing out at the political rivals for venturing out to oust him, the prime minister saw a 'silver lining' in the heat against his government: his popularity had found a new lease on life.

The prime minister “thanked” the opposition bigwigs — Shehbaz Sharif, Asif Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman — for introducing a no-confidence motion against him, saying it helped his party to regain popularity.

Also read: No-confidence vote likely to be held on April 3 or 4: Rashid

PM Khan reiterated that the rationale behind the opposition’s efforts to topple his government was to get rid of “huge corruption” cases they were facing. He further alleged that the opposition was frustrated by his refusal to grant them the NRO (amnesty).

“Losing a government is a minor thing, I will not spare you even if my life is at stake,” the prime minister thundered.
“Our estranged party workers have returned to [PTI] after seeing their [opposition leaders] real faces… nations fall when they stop differentiating between good and evil,” the premier claimed.

Calling PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif a “boot polisher” and "Cherry blossom", the premier said he knew that if his government stayed in power he would be put behind bars due to corruption cases.
He also lashed out at former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, saying he had introduced horse-trading in the country’s politics.

 “If he [Nawaz] returns to Pakistan… he will first attack the judiciary… he is making attempts to create rifts among judges and he will never allow the independent judiciary to function,” PM Imran remarked.
He said Nawaz, who has been living in London since 2019 for medical treatment, will also “target” the military after coming into power because “he wants to control all institutions” to protect himself from accountability.

PM Imran said political leaders with offshore assets can never pursue independent foreign policy fearing that their wealth could be seized. “I don’t want to strain country’s relations with any other country but there is a difference between ‘boot polishing’ and maintaining balanced ties,” he remarked while referring to the opposition’s criticism over his remarks against EU diplomats.

“There is hardly any politician in Pakistan who has a deep understanding of the UK political system than me,” he added. While referring to the Memogate scandal and Dawn leaks controversy, the premier said both Nawaz and former president Asif Ali Zardari were against the country’s military and did not want to make an independent foreign policy.

PM Imran said Pakistan suffered huge losses both in economic and human terms by joining the so-called US war on terror. “Tell me Shehbaz Sharif what Pakistan got in return for supporting the war in Afghanistan… they [US] cursed and blamed us for their own failures,” he maintained.

The prime minister said that Allah Almighty had ordained the people to stand with the good and wage jihad against evil while remaining neutral in this struggle had not been allowed.

These corruption-tainted people had been manoeuvring against his government after realizing that his government had successfully steered the country out of the financial challenges and then the corona pandemic, he added.

The prime minister said Shahbaz sent his sons and son-in-law abroad to save them from NAB cases,  Ishaq Dar and his sons had been also sitting abroad, adding that from their way of life, it appeared that they had been born in the house of UK Queen.

Read more: The curious case of 50 'missing' PTI ministers

He said that Ishaq Dar’s father owned a bicycle shop and their living standards showed how much they had plundered the national wealth.

The prime minister while referring to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said that he was staying in London and would return as soon as the government was pulled down through unfair means. He reminded the nation to remember Nawaz Sharif’s past ploys which he had employed in politics to secure his vested interests.

He said that after his return to Pakistan, he would bribe the media, influence the Election Commission of Pakistan and would attack and divide the judiciary, as the corrupt elements could not tolerate an independent judiciary, which was also evident from PML-N's track record of its past attack on the Supreme Court.'Changa Manga politics'The prime minister heaped further scorn on Nawaz Sharif, saying he is well aware of the former's politics since the time when "he played cricket under the supervision of his ‘own chosen umpire’".

He accused Nawaaz Sharif of introducing "yellow journalism" and bribing the judges. "He was also a pioneer of the notorious Changa Manga politics, where members of the parliament were put under house arrest like herds."

The prime minister emphasised that unless a nation failed to differentiate between good and evil it was destined to be destroyed as pronounced by Sufi saint Mawlana Rumi. He said the former rulers who had stashed away their dirty money aboard could not formulate an independent foreign policy. He asked the people to reject people who had plundered the national exchequer and had stakes abroad.

The prime minister said that under the PTI’s rule, the country was out of corona pandemic, its economy was on the right track and the farmers had earned huge profit out of the record yield. The latest global report found that Pakistan was the only country in the world where there was less unemployment and the price hike was under control, he said, adding that country was witnessing a record export, textile production and tax collection which was being spent on public welfare. The country was on the right path.

He said the government spent a huge amount to bring down prices of petroleum products to provide relief to the public despite its global soaring prices.