Imran accuses PDM of 'pitting PTI against army'

Former premier claims ‘unknown men’ were stationed outside FJC to assassinate him; asks CJP to take notice

LAHORE:

PTI chief Imran Khan has accused the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition of trying to drive a wedge between his party and the armed forces, saying that the government was attempting to turn military against the former ruling party.

The former premier’s remarks came during a press conference via video link in the wake of a country-wide crackdown on his party workers who recently clashed with the police during a heated stand-off and protests at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC).

Imran also claimed that his court appearance in the Toshakhana case had been devised as a trap to bring him into the crosshairs of the same people who took an aim at his life in Wazirabad.

He alleged that ‘unknown’ people were stationed inside the complex who would have killed him had he not left the place on the advice of his companions, and questioned why the people in plain clothes were allowed inside the complex.

He called on Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial to take notice.

“It was a trap and their presence there only meant to assassinate me; on this occasion, our lawyers were also subjected to torture inside the judicial complex,” he said, adding that the manner in which police resorted to teargas shelling and throwing stones at his convoy, he feared that the ‘unknown’ people would have killed him.

He also pleaded with the CJP to hold hearings of all the cases against him through video link, saying there was a threat to his life and he was deliberately being lured to the courts to expose him in the open and subsequently assassinate him.

The PTI chief also asked the CJP if there was any surety for his security. "Tell me who was there to protect me when I entered the judicial complex, as the three to four guards protecting me would have easily been pushed away”.

He also urged the top judge to take notice of what was happening in the country as democracy and the Constitution were being attacked and nobody seemed to care about it.

Continuing on the judicial complex incident, Imran said that they were collecting evidence and the proof would be sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council and the European Union. He also urged overseas Pakistanis to apprise the international community of how the human rights of his party workers were being violated by the incumbent government.

The PTI chief also took a dig at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying that his opponents would not win elections at any cost, adding that seeing election results, their aim was to now kill him. He also accused them of creating polarisation in society by calling his party workers terrorists, saying such allegations will spread hatred and divide the nation.

He further accused the coalition rulers of making efforts to create a rift between PTI and the armed forces; they were trying their best to provoke the military against the PTI by highlighting campaigns on social media, but no one could control public reaction on social media. He added that “this country was mine and the armed forces were also mine”.

He further claimed that these people were not interested in holding elections; even if I was sent to jail, these people would assassinate me there as well. “They were resorting to brutality against him and his party to protect their interests. The country’s history did not witness such brutality as it did in the tenure of this government,” he added.

Referring to alleged difficulties in running election campaigns in Punjab, he accused the government of spoiling peace in the province and thus creating hurdles to delay the elections despite its date drawing near. “The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had already announced the schedule for polls in the province, which were to be held on April 30,” he said, adding that the authorities were reluctant to allow them to hold a public rally at Minar-e-Pakistan.

Turning his guns towards Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Khan said the ‘queen of liars’ thinks as if Pakistan was her fiefdom. “She says that her father (former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif) was Nelson Mandela and he should be forgiven,” he added.

The former premier also castigated caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, saying they came to power just to ruin the PTI and questioned how he became a millionaire in a short period.

He also castigated Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for saying that the country’s missile programme could not be harmed.

“I think the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was now talking about our nuclear programme. I had warned earlier that if our economy continues to deteriorate, it would compromise our national security and sovereignty since they all were interlinked. Hence, conduct free and transparent elections and the economy would revive automatically,” he added.

He urged his supporters not to take up arms, as the party did not want anarchy but elections in the country.