Allowing Nawaz to travel abroad was biggest mistake: Imran Khan admits
MANDI BAHAUDDIN, Feb 18 (SABAH): Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Friday has claimed that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) re-elected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) due to its competency.
Addressing a public gathering in Mandi Bahauddin, the premier criticized the opposition parties and said that he will not call Jamiat Ullema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman as ‘Maulana’.
‘Diesel’ gathers all the opponents and starts anti-government movement. The opposition parties are afraid of PTI, he added.
Imran Khan admitted that allowing former PM and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad was biggest mistake. It’s been 20 years that they are calling each other ‘dacoit’, he stated.
PM launched a scathing attack against the opposition, particularly the Sharif family, accusing it of scrambling to move a no-confidence motion against the government in an effort to save the its looted wealth. “Why is there haste in moving a no-trust move?” he asked, noting that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, was currently facing a money laundering reference. “Shehbaz, if you are innocent, then why do you ask the courts for more time? Ask them to conduct day-to-day hearings.”
PM Imran went on to say that when the opposition had filed a case against him in the Supreme Court, he had stayed in the country and had proved that he was sadiq and ameen (honest and righteous).
“I provided the documents the court asked for. I did not run away [or] ask for more dates. I told them to listen to the case [day-to-day]. So Shehbaz, why are you running?” he said, adding that the courts were free.
Turning his guns on PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, the premier said that she was also “scared” due to the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case and was trying to “scare judges”. “So they want a no-trust move so that the government can be ousted and they can get off scot-free like they did during Gen Musharraf’s tenure, Khan added.
Imran khan said “I have a message for the Sharif family: we are prepared for whatever you decide to do. Whatever your plan is, kaptaan is prepared for that plan.” He predicted that the opposition would once again fail, but would end up in jail this time round.
PM Khan categorically said the opposition would not receive a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) — a term used to imply amnesty — until it returned the money it had stolen from the people of the country.
“They are scared because Imran Khan has no price, he will not give you an NRO like General Musharraf,” he said, referring to the country’s former military ruler. He said that the cases against the opposition were old and they were asking him for an NRO, the same way they had asked Gen Musharraf. “Thieves will not get any NRO until they return the country’s [looted] money […] as long as I am alive, I will not let them rest until they return the people’s wealth,” he vowed.