PTI support to increase after interim set-up: Imran

Party chief threatens ‘tsunami march’ in case judiciary attacked.

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has accused the government of trying to ‘topple the judiciary’ and declared his party would not let this happen. “If the government succeeds, its corruption will multiply by March.”

Khan was speaking at a press conference in Karachi on Thursday. He said that democracy will not be damaged if the current government ends.

Khan also said that PTI’s popularity had increased after Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha’s tenure as the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence ended and highlighted the successful Hyderabad, Abbottabad and Quetta public meetings to show that the party didn’t need his support, as has been implied by PTI’s critics. “After Pasha, PTI stood at 30% (representation of support), now we

have 40% and after the interim set-up we will have 80%,” Khan said. “All the people who are now scared of the government

and holding back their support will come out then.”

When asked if Asad Umar, the former head of Engro, would head the rumoured interim set-up, as has been speculated,

Khan did not deny it outright.

“No political party can bring direct changes in an interim set-up,” Khan said. “We have waited for 16 years for the revolution to come in power to bring changes.”

He said that in the 2008 general elections, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had 10 million votes and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had eight million. “Now we have 40 million new voters, who’ll lead the tsunami, ” Khan said.

“There is no possibility of an alliance with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement at all. They were the ones who supported

Asif Ali Zardari and we are not going to support parties that have a militant wing,” Khan said. He also said that there would be no alliance with the PML-N or the PPP.

Support for judiciary

Khan has vowed to organize a ‘tsunami march’ if the Supreme Court was attacked or any action was taken against the judiciary.

Addressing the Karachi Bar Association members at the Shuhda-e-Punjab Hall, Khan rejected the new contempt of court law and said that it had divided the country into two classes – oppressors and the oppressed. He alleged that the ‘greatest advocates of democracy’ were unaware of the cardinal principle of accountability of leadership. He said the government bulldozed a ‘person-specific’ contempt law just to save President Asif Ali Zardari’s millions.

He also referred to a recent statement by the National Accountability Bureau chairperson who said the country faces millions in losses because of corruption. He said the “thieves” have tailor-made a law that could cover this theft.

He said there was a conspiracy against the Supreme Court chief justice.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2012.