Imran blames Centre for rising militancy in Swat

Says he would have fled to London like Nawaz if he was corrupt; alleges CEC is in cahoots with ‘thieves’

ISLAMBAD:

PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan said on Thursday that anyone giving an NRO – a deal – to the incumbent rulers was a “traitor”, reiterating that he would prepare the nation and put up a fight against the NRO givers.

In his three speeches delivered in Takht Bhai, Charsadda and Rawalpindi, the ex-premier spoke on issues ranging from NRO to by-polls, from regrouping of militants to equating politics with Jihad; and from accusing the chief election commissioner (CEC) of supporting his political opponents to expressing willingness to go to jail to win ‘real freedom’.

The PTI chairman emphasised that the upcoming by-polls were not just elections but Jihad and urged the people to come out on the polling day to cast their votes in the constituencies that fell vacant after PTI’s decision to resign en masse from the National Assembly in the face of an imminent defeat after the vote of no-confidence in April this year.

Also, the ex-PM put the blame on the federal government for the rise in militancy in the scenic mountainous valley of Swat, saying the borders were under its control and that it was the responsibility of the Centre to stop terrorists from entering into the country.

People had taken to streets in Swat against the rising violence in the valley, especially, after a school van was attacked leaving the driver dead and two children injured earlier this week.

The PTI founder said that his government – which is in power in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – had curbed terrorism in the province but the borders were under the control of the federal government.

“Why is terrorism happening in Swat and tribal areas?” he questioned, “Why are terrorists being allowed to come?”

Admitting that the people of Swat and tribal areas had made a lot of sacrifices in the past, he alleged that terrorism was increasing since the change of the government.

Imran while accusing his opponents and former rulers of looting the country for the last three decades said that he would have also fled to London like former premier Nawaz Sharif if he was corrupt.

Imran said the PML-N supremo left the country whenever he faced a difficult time.

Meanwhile, the PTI chief once again accused the CEC of supporting the incumbent rulers, saying he was in cahoots with the “thieves”. He alleged that around 10,000 to 15,000 bogus votes would be cast in the by-elections.

During the Charsadda rally, Imran said, “this is not an election, it is a Jihad, for the future of the country and the children,” urging the people to come out to cast their votes. He alleged that the “other side” had made a plan to rig the polls and stressed that the PTI would still defeat them.

He said people were groaning under the weight of inflation but the rulers were busy waiving off their loans, noting that 60 per cent of the federal cabinet was on bail in corruption cases.

Once again, the PTI chief questioned the agencies’ role and asked what they were doing.

He wondered what was left in the country if the role of agencies was to give threats to people from unknown numbers and pressurise media not to show him.

Imran questioned if the federal government’s job was only to make “bogus cases” against him, saying first PTI leader Shehbaz Gill was tortured in custody and now PTI Senator Azam Swati was “stripped naked and beaten”.

“Whoever is giving NRO to these thieves is a traitor of the country,” the PTI chairman said during his address in Takht Bhai. “We will fight against them and I will prepare my nation.”

Imran said anyone who thought that they would succeed in intimidating him by making cases and putting him in jail must know that “I will fight more vigorously”.

This is the decisive time, Imran told people, adding that there was “slavery of thieves and robbers”. “If the nation does not do Jihad at this time, the coming generations will be slaves of ‘these thieves’.”

He reiterated that he would give a call for a long march and a “sea of people” would reach the federal capital.

In Rawalpindi, Imran said jail was a “small thing” as he could risk his life for getting true freedom. “You all have to prepare. This is not politics, it’s Jihad.”
He said the nation would stand before the “gang of thieves and their handlers”.