ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Chicago to attend the Nato summit brought nothing but disgrace to the country, stated Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday.
Speaking to a press conference, Khan said that despite the death of 40,000 Pakistanis and the loss of Rs70 billion in a “strangers’ war”, Pakistan’s sacrifices are still not being given any consideration.
He further questioned that why the resentment being faced by 48 countries was not being kept in mind while discussing the reopening of Nato supply routes in the parliament. “This whole war is being done for the sake of dollars.”
“[Former ambassador to US] Husain Haqqani wrote a book against the Pakistani Army and received $100,000 from the American think-tank,” Khan claimed.
The party chief added that the PTI is not against the army, rather it wants to save it as the army should not have any role in politics.
He said that the PTI will announce its agenda regarding the Nato supply routes during a rally in Rawalpindi on May 27, stated a press release.
New PTI inductee
General (retd) Ali Kuli Khan, along with his two brothers, announced that they have joined PTI during the press conference on Tuesday. He reposed his confidence in the leadership of Imran Khan.
Khan also welcomed them to the party.
The press conference was attended by Ahsan Rasheed, Colonel (retd) Younis Ali, Amir Mehmood Kiyani, Dr Israr Shah, Ahmad Jawad and Zahid Hussain Kazmi.
COMMENTS (67)
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Imran Khan no doubt to read and listening your statement in press conference is very nice. This is true that our present Government is totally failure in every where either in internally or foreign policy.
But PTI and other political s parties have also responsibilities to do something when the question of national issues. Are they are only seeing to became ruin our country or their responsibilities are only to give statement on the TV screens. Particularly who are sitting in the assemblies why not they are rising their voice against this.
@....:
It hurts to see 42 recommendations to the most senseless comment. Pakistan is doomed.
Imran Khan we are with you. Save our country. God bless you.
@faraz: MY goodness you are so blind to the realites of the region!!Read IMRANs book many times you may get some sense!
@....: Oh get your facts right, those 40,000 died after we entered the war....
Imran is correct.
@Zamir Malik: you are so ignorant IK has announced to be part of the ahtajaj and mourning along with awami tahreek and pmln over these killings, but can you ask you leader did he not know if he wouls announce new provinces on ethnic bases he would see the same results, IK was right when he said that new administrative units should be formed but not on ethnic grounds, is this the vision of nawaz is he capable of being a leader, he announce ethnic provinces in punjab and does not want that in other provinces, he should not have announced provinces in punjab on ethnic grounds and IK was right when he said that now every body would ask for their provinces then what would happen if this pandora box opens up
@....: this was never like that it started only when USA attacked afghanistan and pakistan sent forces to fata, THose we killed in fata also had families and little kids died there as well, all of them were not terrorists
@sajid ahmad khan: if IK insists on talks, so what USA is planning to do in Afghanistan, here people r just wanna debate without any solution,
@faraz: As a PTI supporter, i also agree with what you said, but the thing is how Zardari was snubbed by Obama yet he doesnt care about what disgrace he has brought! Mr Gillani gives an interview to CNN, he brought disgrace through that interview! Is there anything else they have brought to this country other than disgrace? But yeah, Imran Khan's relating every problem and their solutions to just Pakistan's role in "WOT" is a little too much! But I would also not call Mr Haqqani an "intellectual" since his writings against army and judiciary are a result of his personal greviences against them! After all we have lost about 4000 of our army men to this was including high ranking generals!
@faraz
If this war belongs to Pakistan then why Pakistan taking money for their services.Have you ever took money to protect you east border from NATO.
This war not belong to us why Suicide was not happening before 2004 why its started after Musharraf sent army to WANA If this war belongs to us we have to fight according to our strategy rather than taking instruction from Aunty Clintion
Army is working as a hired gunmen .I feel shamed when Americans give instructions to ARMY chief and he obey the instruction like hired gunmen
i am from fata north waziristan agency i know very well wats going on.those who r sitting here and criticizing imran khan stance on taliban r living in fools paradise.war on terror wat is this? who is fighting this so called war? this war is not against alqaida or taliban this war is purely a strategic war in which usa wants to curtail the role of pakistan in south asia.Dear fellows imran stance on war on terror and on taliban is 100% correct.if pakistan subside from so called war on terror and start dialogue in tribal area (my area) i assure u there will b a complete peace coz i know my area well then any one here sitting and making up there minds.we just need a clear stance on war on terror thats it.
@....: and how many of our citizens had died before we became an instrumental tool in this great and just war for global peace?
Some ignorant know-it-alls here still support this war. We have lost thousands of soldiers because of this war which wasn't ours. Talibans blow themselves up in our cities because of the drones. Is that too difficult to understand?
@faraz: Your reply to @amjad is brilliant! Agree with you 100%. If IK actually took the time to answer the issues raised in your comment we might learn a little bit more about IK's proposed solution. So far all we have heard from IK is irrational cliches!
@faraz: says If pushtoon nationalists are fighting, then what are those 500,000 jihadis doing that we nurtured before 911 Where did you get the number from? Is this the exact number? Can you reference your comments to a link or prove to your point.... Talk about Pashtoon.. are you northen alliance supporter? who are you? .
Interesting that Imran Khan runs to the US to raise money but them calls them all kinds of names.
@Salma: Yes, you probably can't find more fake and dishonest amongst the stalwarts of Pakistan's political landscape... I mean, "Immy" and his Swiss bank accounts or his sugar mills, oh my oh my.
@Amjad:
How does Imran Khan of Zaman Park Lahore have a better knowledge of FATA?
Cannot wait until Imran Khan comes into power with a clear majority. He is exactly what Pakistan needs right now.
This man is our biggest disappointment. Yet another proof that he reads few urdu newspaper columns and repeats whatever is written there. Nothing new in his statement.
@Farhan Khan: but neither US nor NATO sees u as anywhere a major player....
Khan saab we all know you are a good looking mullah
@Amjad
In Khyber agency, there is struggle between different militant groups, tribal lashkar and FC; all of these factions are pushtoon! Militant groups like Lashkar e Islam, Ansar e Islam, Toheed e Islam and TTP Afridi are killing each other. Hundreds of thousands of tribals are languishing in IDP camps. Sectarian battles occur between Ansar e Islam and Lashkar e Islam (barelwi vs. Deobandi). Why were tribal elders killed, schools bombed, people kidnapped for ransom, mosques blown up, member of lashkars killed. I really don’t understand how these killings can be an expression of pushtoon nationalism, as Imran puts it. And living in Khyber, you must have seen the hordes of jihadis that were trained in the 80s and 90s. If pushtoon nationalists are fighting, then what are those 500,000 jihadis doing that we nurtured before 911.
I would appreciate if you express your views regarding this problem. As a native of FATA, you definitely know better than anyone else.
@wtf said Those who want more war. You losers must come from families who inherited land from British Raj, am I right? Don’t worry , Imran is redistributing your lands which belong to the people Time you guys pack up from here and live your luxury life elsewhere The nation does not want you
@wtf Sir , I assure you I am not a feudal landlord. I live in Karachi and my grandfather was an immigrant who left everything back in India. So I am definitely not a feudal. Now, you have to understand why we criticise Mr Khan's terror policies. Mr Khan thinks that Taliban is resistance movement while he forgets that they are trained killers who killed more Pakistanis than drones would ever do. However, SOME supporters of PTI (especially young guys like you) think that Imran Khan is a divine being and criticising Mr khan is like blasphemy. In a liberal democratic society nobody is above criticism. And for Gods sake stop saying that if we dont support Mr Khan we are anti Pakistan.
I would agree with IK if he spells out what should the govt have done instead of going to the US on NATO invitation? Let us come up with some concrete plan to deal with the killers of our civilians and soldiers. The US has not killed tens of thousands of Pakistanis the terrorists have. TTP's strategy has been "if the US/NATO are beating us, let us kill Pakistani citizens in return".
Imran Khan who desires to be the next PM of Pakistan but who doesn't even have enough candidates to win elections and is banking upon fake concert shows through million dollars going in each show. And look at the way he talks - he cant distinguish between the fact that the snub is not to Zardari but to Pakistan and that is coz of him, his beloved army and ISI and his beloved taliban. I am sorry but I yet have to find another politician more fake and more dishonest than Imran Khan.
What on earth is wrong with imran khan! Can he ever talk sense. Criticising the Chicago visit just for the sake of criticism. Imran has absolutely no knowledge whatsoeever about politics and diplomacy. He will be a disaster if he ever comes to power
Imran is indeed a patriotic person who has a lot of self respect. It is time Pakistanis opened their eyes.
@A.Bajwa:
A most sensible and pragmatic post. I hope there are more Pakistanis like you. People should stop worrying about saving face or disgrace. The only disgrace in this world is to not live your life to its full potential. Pakistan as a nation is massively under-performing. The leaders should shelf pride and religious nonsense. Instead of worrying about blasphemy on twitter and FB they should pay attention to the latest girls school blown up in KP. All this is the result of the rubbish taught in our schools and preached from the pulpits,
Here's the thing. Mr Khan was a ghost the past few days yet the moment he got the opportunity, he couldn't resist verbal bashing the government. Everyone just critisezes their opponents, no one ever comes up with solutions.
Every politician is an opportunist.
Those who want more war. You losers must come from families who inherited land from British Raj, am I right?
Don't worry , Imran is redistributing your lands which belong to the people
Time you guys pack up from here and live your luxury life elsewhere
The nation does not want you
@faraz And @Khan: You guys will never understand what's going on in FATA in particular because most of pakistanis doesn't even know what is going on there. who started it and since when !!
So before calling someone a nutts, you guys need to read more on FATA and understand. And to understand what IK is saying about the taliban thing, you need to have good knowledge about talibans, the tribal culture and the area itself ( FATA in particular ) only then you guys will understand what IK is talking about..
FYI : I am from FATA, Khayber Agency ... Born there, Grown there, Lived there all my life ...
Pakistan Govt. should be helpful in orderly withdrawl of more than 100,000 foreign invaders from Afghanistan, and suggest the alternative route via IRAN! Iran President should welcome this step as long as the Yanks bring their own oil with them!
Rex Minor
@aley. Define better please --- if you mean if he will ever become like NS, Zardarir or Altaf --- then sorry you will be disappointed.
@ realist
Are you seriously justifying Imran's idiotic support of terrorist groups? Maybe you should look at how much money the US gives us every year, then look at what the Taliban gives us every year and compare...
Now you tell me: which group deserves to be kicked out of the country, the one giving us billions in aid or the one bombing our cities and detracting from billions worth of foreign investment?
and please don't say that the only reason the Taliban are bombing is is due to US occupation a. They have been bombing us since 1995, several years prior to any NATO or US troops b. If they hated the US so much, they'd bomb US embassies and consulates, foreign compounds, international schools, embassy workers' homes, and NATO supply trucks, not markets full of innocent people of all religions and ethnicities
When your army gives millions to groups dedicated to bombing civilians and killing everyone who isn't a Sunni muslim, that my friend, is when you should expect "reactions"
Will he ever get better??
Everyone is caught in Right wing agenda.There should be a decent way of getting out of love affair with US.
In any case the conclusion to be drawn from Chicago meeting is that Pakistan is marginalized. Kabul is more important. They get the money. They get the attention.That is the new paradigm in South Asia.Neither Imran Khan nor Bilawal is accepting it.Instead of harping on apologies or honour the fundamental strategic change should be accepted.Afghanistan flirted with Soviets. Pakistan flirted with Americans. Now Afghanistan is firmly in American lap.That is how the life goes.
Pakistan should focus on the domestic front. Some bold decisions are to be taken. The tribal area should be integrated into Pakistan as KPK assembly is demanding.Religion should be handled the way they have done in Bangladesh. Pakistan ideology as enunciated by Iqbal and Jinnah should be ruthlessly enforced.Americans should be supported only if they give sound project aid like building a highway from Sukkar to Chman or make the Indus River navigable. With development of fiberglass technology boats could ply even in the canals.
@karim: Imran is not a leader. he is a coward. Today many people killed in Karachi and so called leader never bothered to talk about it because Awami Tehreek and PMLN are against PTI so their blood value is nothing for Imran Khan and he actually tried to divert the attention by issuing statement that could please one Powerful group in Pakistan.
Imran khan is a great intellectual and a political leader. whenever he talks about something, he talks in a sensible way.Since the formation of PTI, the corruption issue has become a number one issue in Pakistan. It is imran khan who is raising his voice for true and fair accountibility in the country. As far as opportunism is concerned in politics,Nawaz and zardari are the biggest oppotunist in the country as one was brought by general zia and the other benefitted from NRO.PTI is the future of the country and hopefully imran khan will get the country out of this mess.
For Imran Khan only Issue is PMLN and Drones in Pakistan. Mr Imran Khan always emphasized Talkis with Terrorist Taliban but he has a problem to talk with a democratic party PMLN . The people are dying in Sindh and since MQM is involved in it Imran Khan is silent but I am sure Imran Khan will blame this on PMLN as well as Awami Tehreek and PMLN supporters were killed in Karachi this time and Imran Khan is doing politics out of Personal enmity so I am sure he will not make any Statement on Karachi Issue. Whenever some problem arises in Karachi Imran Khan instantly raise some other issue to divert all attention.
This war is nothing but a disaster, but we have become addict to capitulation. For native orientalists, please read http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2050547
To walk the talk IK should open talks with Taliban and TTP immediately to find a suitable solution before the elections.
Look who's talking: Closet TTP supporter. This man would have his wish when Taliban chose him as their leader.
It is easy to say brave words when you are not in power!
Ali Quli Khan joined PTI?? isn't he cusion of Ch. Nisar?
Imran Khan is corrrect. If Pakistan continues to be a part of this evil war, then Pakistan will break apart into several provinces and there will be a civil war.
You can not be selective about Imran Khan and his policies which have held steady for over a decade of non-cooperation with a strangers war.
You want Pakistan to support this evil war, then dont cry about the blowback from such a ridiculous decision made by Musharraf.
Liberals need to get out of Pakistanm and forget it. Your voice is only made to appear numerous through a newspaper, but you have no numbers at all
Well said, Imran khan.God be with you..
Imran is just another opportunist who also thinks that playing with the religious sentiments of the simple masses by supporting extremists is the sure shot way to come in power. Nothing complicated or novel about his strategy. You just need a number of fools, of which there are plenty, to buy it. Even Mullah Fazal of Swat FM Radio fame tried that and succeeded until the military operation.
Respect for Mr. Khan but seriously I don't understand how is it possible for Pakistan ever to stay neutral in Afghan War. In my view, Pakistan is the Major Player in the War. She cannot just stay neutral.
IK, your comments are nothing more than cheap, political point scoring... I'm not a Zardari fan. I hate him more than anyone else and I think he is the worst President this Country ever had. But, for once let's admit he showed some guts here. 1) He chose to go to this high-pressure summit himself, when he could have easily sent Gillani instead. It is a daring move. Let's admit it. 2) They are still holding them for the past 6 months. 3) Establishment's dictator would have succumbed to their orders in milliseconds. IK among many others, one really bad thing about you is that you do not admit the goods of your opponents, which makes one confident that you do not actually know the difference. With such cheap and hollow claims, you are doing more harm to yourself and your supporters than anyone else.
Imran is no bold leader. He has no guts to take on the taliban and the militants groups operating within. He never vociferously speaks out against them. He never speaks in support of minorities. He speaks the language everyone wants to hear but never has the guts to tell the truth everyone fears including him to avoid any backlash and threats. So lets face it. Imran is the paper tiger here. I would like to see him openly taken on taliban and all those militant groups like the way Benazir spoke out. He is just a scared man.
Translation: Army should not support anyone except PTI.
@....:
When you allow their enemies to use your country to supply their occupation forces, then be ready to face some reaction.
Imran Khan is always Right,He is the only Trustable politician in Pakistan,Vote for PTI please....
Wrong IK. IT IS OUR WAR. We have been part and parcel of this war since day 1. This is continuation of the war which was started with the Russians and still continues today. We have to see it to the end.
Mr. Khan we proud on you, this is the voice of brave Pakistanis not from servant..
Mr Khan does not talk like a future PM , he more looks like a future opposition. He is either ignorant of ground realities or just a political opportunist.
When will Imran ever talk sense ? Why is he such a duffer and buffoon? What would he have done if he was invited to the NATO Summit? He would be a disaster if he ever gets close to power in Islamabad.
Could'nt agree anymore.
@faraz: Actually, I also tend to agree with your opinion. I am a supporter of IK, but I hate his Qazi-Hussain-Like attitude in these matters.
Atleast someone has got the guts to pointout the massive disgrace into which these politicians are luring us . Buckup Imran khan :)
Yeah, A "strangers' war", because the tens of thousands of Pakistanis killed in suicide bomb attacks from extremist groups were all strangers, and we can keep letting extremist groups bomb our cities and kill our people, after all, they're all "strangers" aren't they?
Imran Khan, do the world a favour and grow up before you open your mouth.
IK has gotten hold of a great man. Gen. Ali Kuli has old scores to settle with Nawaz Sharif as he made Musharaf the army chief out of turn, and Gen Ali Kuli was the senior most general at that time. Gen Ali is going to teach pml-n a lesson now!
As long as Taliban are in FATA and Baluchistan, Pakistan has no option but to cooperate. 50 countries are in Afghanistan, and we can’t sit idly. Imran’s entire concept of Pakistan’s cooperation is false; even if Imran thinks there is no threat from Taliban ideology (which he is wrong), it will remain a geographic compulsion because Taliban will enter FATA/Baluchistan and US will chase them or force us to do something about it.
Well Haqqani's book is one of best book ever written on the subject of mullah military alliance. I just read Imran's book and couldn’t help laughing. Imran is an honest leader but not an intellectual, and I am saying this as a PTI supporter.
Imran Khan you only have guts to talk like about the war as you are the only Paksitani Leader is who is brave and honest. Other Pakistani LEADERS are paper Lions.