Reham paid to write book against me in 2018: Imran

Tells charged crowd ‘Sharif mafia’ once again gearing up for his character assassination

ISLAMABAD:

Former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday alleged that the Sharif family “paid a woman” – a tacit reference to his ex-wife Reham Khan – to write a book against him during the 2018 general elections, saying the “mafia” was once again gearing up for his character assassination and might release something after Eidul Fitr.

The former premier referred to the book in an indirect way for the first time since its publication and that too at a public gathering in Multan. At the rally, he also spoke about his first ex-wife Jemima Khan, saying she had to go through court cases and face allegations of being a member of the Jewish lobby by the “Sharif mafia”.

Reham, a former wife of Imran, had written a controversial memoir just a few days before the 2018 elections. Though it was claimed back then that the publication was intended to damage Imran’s electoral prospects, he still became the chief executive of the country in 2018 and was recently voted out from power through a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly.

“They are the people who paid a woman to write a book against me in the 2018 elections,” Imran said. “They will once again go for my character assassination after Eid. For them I have a message … I will fight against them as long as I am alive.”

Apart from talking about his former wives, Imran accused incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of ordering the most number of encounters during his tenure as the Punjab chief minister. Shedding light on how “mafias” were working for the last three decades, he said that they threaten and pressure people to make things done. He, however, said that he would continue speaking against the “mafias”.

He alleged that the “Sharif mafia” had thrown fake photos of former PM Benazir Bhutto and her mother out of a plane while it was flying over Lahore in the past. Referring to his former wife, Jemima, Imran said, Sharifs ran a whole campaign of painting her as part of Jewish lobby, adding that Jemima was also booked in a bogus case pertaining to tiles and she had to face courts for a year despite the fact that the forensic test had made it clear that the tiles were not antique.

Since his ouster, Imran has been seeking public support against the “foreign conspiracy” and for conducting fresh elections in the country. During his speech, Imran, while urging the people to come out to support his narrative against what he calls “imported government”, said that he would try to gather two million people in Islamabad to demand fresh elections in the country at the earliest.

To a charged crowd, Imran also vowed to further expose the Sharif family by issuing a “White Paper” on their corruption cases. He alleged that the foreign powers had “imposed” corrupt rulers just because it was easier for them to control them.

Imran said that the “White Paper” would contain details of corruption cases of the Sharif family and the total “stolen money” in the cases that they are facing in a few days so that the nation could be aware of their alleged corruption.

Imran decides to write to president, CJP

Meanwhile, the former premier decided to write a letter to President Arif Alvi and Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and inquire about the formation of a judicial commission sought to be made for investigating the contents of a “threat letter” written by the US and conveyed to the Pakistan’s ambassador over there.

Party’s official statement stated that Imran would inquire about the progress made so far in this regard from both, the President and the top judge of the country. Imran regretted that the threats given to Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US were “shameful” and against diplomatic norms.