Imran believes threat to his life still very much there

LAHORE:

 

PTI Chairman and former premier Imran Khan has said that there still remained a threat to his life even after an assassination attempt in Wazirabad earlier this month.

Imran was wounded on November 3 in the shooting at a rally, part of a rolling march that he has led to press for a general election, since he was ousted in a parliament vote in April.

A police report said a man identified as Mohammad Naveed acted alone when he took out a pistol and started shooting while the PTI chief waved at his supporters. However, the deposed premier rejected the police version.

"Well, unfortunately, I do think they could try again. They think that the only way to get me out of the way is actually [to] eliminate me. So I think that there is a threat, still," Imran said during an interview with France24.

The former premier said he was convinced that the recent attack on him was an assassination plot hatched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and a senior intelligence officer.

“There is no way of me getting proper justice if these three people remain in their seats," he added.

The PTI chief said the assailant was merely a "decoy" serving the interests of a state-level conspiracy, saying that the government leaders feel threatened by his party's popularity in view of the next elections in the country.

"The reason why they want me to be eliminated is because my party is by far the most popular party," he said, adding that fear of death would not stop him from pursuing his mission of real independence.

The PTI chairman said he only trusted Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial to conduct an independent investigation, arguing that any other probe would be sabotaged by the interior minister.

The former premier went on to say that he feared further attempts on his life but vowed to rejoin the anti-government march. He said he would take "more precautions" but vowed to carry on regardless of the risks, insisting that the protest march would remain peaceful.

He added that the only solution to current problems the country was facing was free and fair elections, stressing that his party was certain to win them.

Imran, who was removed from power through a no-confidence vote, denied having backtracked on his claim that he was toppled as part of a collusion between the US and the Pakistani elite.

'No question of backtracking'

He stressed there was indeed evidence that the US administration wanted to oust him, saying a diplomatic cable proved his claim and that the issue was now in the hands of the chief justice.

“There’s no question of me backtracking on the foreign conspiracy. The cypher was put in front of the cabinet, NSC and CJP," he added.

However, Imran said he did not want to go against the interests of the people of Pakistan by antagonizing a superpower.

'Press conference was very unadvisable'

Responding to a question, the PTI chairman said that a news conference by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief was “unadvisable”.

“I don’t want to damage my institutions because Pakistan needs a strong army. The press conference was very unadvisable," he said and added that the ISI chief should not be conducting a presser.

The former premier said if he responded to the press conference point by point, the army's institution would be undermined, adding that he did not wish to do so as the country needed a strong defence.

The PTI chief said he believed the press conference was also a “reaction” to the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif, who, according to him, was presenting his point of view.

"He [Arshad Sharif] had been threatened with death after which [he] left the country and was later assassinated in Kenya," he said.

Imran claimed that after the murder, there was a "huge public backlash" and people cast fingers at the establishment, adding that the press conference was more to appease the public perception.

Separately, the PTI chief said that Pakistan had reached the “brink of default” while expressing fear that those who will pull out the country from the current situation would most likely demand “compromise on assets of national security”.

Addressing participants of the Haqeeqi Azadi March through video link from Lahore, the PTI chairman highlighted that the risk of country’s default touched an alarming level of 80% on Thursday, which was 75% a day ago and 64.5% on Tuesday.

He explained to long march participants that if the country defaulted, no foreign bank would lend money to Pakistan, no investor would look towards the country and a new wave of hyperinflation would hit the common man.

Currently, around 50 million people are living below the poverty line and it is feared that another 50 million will get poorer in case of economic default, he indicated.

Imran pointed out that owing to the different priorities of the “imported rulers” all economic indicators were in the negative. The country’s exports and remittances have dropped dramatically, which were booming during the last year of the PTI government, he said.

Similarly, he highlighted that the government’s own statistics were painting a bleak picture of the agriculture sector which catered to nearly half of the population.

The former premier further pointed out that the industrial growth of the country had fallen to one per cent from seven per cent during the past six months owing to the “negligence of the imported rulers who were busy closing their corruption cases”.

(With input from News Desk)