Azadi march: Imran Khan claims breaking record

Says 44-day sit-in is longest in history

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has claimed that his struggle is not limited to the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but is aimed at changing the system.

“Our struggle is not just ‘Go Nawaz Go’… it is ‘Go System Go,” Imran said, adding that the current system of the country thrived on corruption and nepotism.



He was addressing his supporters on the 44th day of his sit-in on Friday outside Parliament House.

Imran Khan claimed that it was the longest sit-in in history since previous record for such a protest was 43 days. “My entire struggle is on one side and these 44 days are on the other. And let me say that these 44 days are historic,” he added.

He said his public gathering in Lahore on Sunday would break all the previous records as he was expecting a huge gathering of his adherents in Punjab’s provincial capital.

Imran Khan criticised the incumbent parliament and political elite and said appointments on key posts were being made in connivance with other political parties.

“People were appointed with a prior understanding, for instance National Accountability Bureau chairperson was appointed together by Nawaz Sharif and Leader of Opposition Syed Khurshid Shah,” he said.

“We are out to give basic rights to people of this country and only you people can fight the family mafia,” he said. Imran said the present government in its 16 months had further burdened every citizen with a debt of Rs65,000. “About 80% of Pakistan has no proper sanitary system,” he added.

He alleged that $200 billion had been stashed away in foreign banks and both Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party’s Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari were not willing to bring back that money.

Quoting Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, he said Sarwar had admitted he was helpless in eradicating or taking action against prevailing ‘corruption’ in Punjab province.

Alleging that Nandipur Power project was a classic example of corruption, Imran stated three main objectives of Naya Pakistan. One of these would be to collect money from those who robbed the country.

He vowed that in Naya Pakistan Islamiat would be taught to Muslims, Hinduism to Hindus and Christianity to Christians. “Everybody will be equal in Naya Pakistan,” he remarked.

He said nothing is impossible in the world. “At the age of nine I visited Gadafi Cricket Stadium with my aunt and got inspired from my cousin playing cricket and decided that I will become cricketer and I proved that by winning World Cup in 1992.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2014.