Imran wants 2m people to reach Islamabad

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the country stood at a crucial juncture and warned that if this “imported government” succeeded, then no future prime minister would be able to counter any foreign conspiracy, and called for two million people to reach Islamabad when he gives the call.

Addressing a workers' convention at Aiwan-e-Iqbal in Lahore, Imran said that they had an important role to play in the days to come and asked them to reach out to the people and informed them about “our movement for true freedom”.

“When you go to the people, you have to tell them that an ‘imported government’ has been put in place through conspiracy. It means that now the United States will control Pakistan through these stooges and boot polishers,” he said.

He said that leaders of the incumbent government can be controlled easily since their wealth and assets were stashed abroad. They will do whatever they have been asked to save their ill-gotten wealth and enslave the whole country for their own interests, he added.

PTI chief reiterated that his government was ousted because he wanted to follow an independent foreign policy that would benefit the people of Pakistan.

Citing example of the former Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, Imran said that the US and Britain colluded to conduct regime change operation there. They started operation with feeding money to the media to do character assassination and level false allegation against him, he added.

He further said that they bribed his party’s lawmakers to switch their loyalties besides giving money to the opposition to take to the street against his government. “Same is the case here in Pakistan. The media started calling us the most incompetent government when all economic indicators were in positive,” he added.

The former premier also urged his party workers to inform masses of the PTI government's performance and the way it had effectively handled the economy even during Covid-19 pandemic.

He further highlighted that some officials of the US embassy met with his party's parliamentarians who later become turncoats. “Whenever embassy officials meet parliamentarians and lawmakers, they discuss foreign policy, but here in Pakistan, they deliberately met with those who were annoyed with the party and knew nothing about foreign policy because they have altogether different agenda of these meetings,” he remarked.

Read US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar meets Imran

He reiterated that the US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Donald Lu met with the Pakistani envoy in Washington on March 7 and told him that a no-trust move would be tabled against the PTI government. “He knew in advance that a no-trust motion is being submitted against his government and warned Pakistani envoy that the country would have to face severe consequences if it is not successful,” he said. “He also told Pakistani envoy that the US would isolate Pakistan and the European Union would also follow suit. But he said that if Imran Khan is removed, then Pakistan would be forgiven."

“This is a crucial time for Pakistan. You have to tell the people … they are Mir Jafars (a reference to the man who betrayed Nawab Siraud Daula in the Battle of Plassey in 1757),” Imran said. “If they succeeded, no prime minister of Pakistan will ever be able to counter the external conspiracy.”

“This is a war for our freedom,” he maintained.

“Those in the government only want NRO-2,” he said, referring to the political amnesty granted by former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf through the National Reconciliation Ordinance in 2007. The ordinance was later struck down by the Supreme Court (SC).

“They will never stand up for their country. They will plunder the country together. If this bunch of thieves got the NRO-2, it would tantamount to digging the grave of justice system,” the former prime minister told the convention.

He asked his party workers to reach out to the people in the streets and in the neighbourhoods. “I am here to give you a plan of action for the days to come,” he added. “At least 2 million people should reach Islamabad on my call,” he added.

Imran reminded the workers that he had announced to observe a night of prayer. “You have to participate in the prayer,” he said. On the occasion, he added, Maulana Tariq Jameel would pray for real freedom of the country.

Imran also fired a broadside against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Raja Sultan, accusing him of being an “agent” of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He accused Raja of targeting the PTI and repeated his call for the CEC’s resignation.

He also lambasted the media blackout of the PTI on mainstream TV channels and asked why the defenders of press freedom were not standing up against it. “During our government 80 percent of the programmes were against but we never reacted. Why is there a media blackout now?” he questioned.

Maryam reacts to Imran’s meeting with Nisar:

Separately, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter to voice her views over the meeting between Imran and former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice (retd) Saqib Nisar, who reportedly met at the former premier’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

She said that the meeting was between two people who had issued and received “false certificates” of being “Sadiq” and “Amin”, tainting these sacred words.