Three stooges are going to lose the no-confidence match against him very badly: PM Imran Khan
DARGAI, Mar 20 (SABAH): Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his heart says three stooges are going to lose the no-confidence match against him very badly. Prime Minister said that he is ready to forgive the dissident MNAs of the PTI given that they rejoin the party.
Addressing a public gathering in the Dargai tehsil of the Malakand district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in connection with the second phase of local government elections, PM Imran Khan told about two dozen disgruntled MNA’s of the PTI — who had “sought refuge” at the Sindh House out of the fear of the government ahead of the no-confidence motion against the premier — that they have “committed a mistake by accepting a bribe from the Opposition.”
“A leader is like a father figure for you,” the premier said. “Now, the nation has become exceedingly aware of politics because of social media, so even a child in the country knows that when a party member becomes a turncoat, there is money involved.”
He reiterated that the whole nation would assume that the MNAs have “sold their conscience by voting in favour of thieves.” “You will not be able to attend public gatherings and no one would marry your children when they’d grow up,” he warned his MNAs.
“We all make mistakes. Allah also forgives his slaves. I am just like a father figure to you all. But for God’s sake, don’t make such a big mistake by joining hands with the corrupt Opposition. Think about your children’s future.”
Taking a jibe at the Opposition, PM Imran Khan said that the PML-N threw PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari in jail during its tenure, while the PPP also initiated corruption-related cases against PML-N when they were in power.
He also said that it was the PML-N that had assigned the derogatory title of “diesel” to JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman as they accused him of selling diesel permits after taking money from the PPP.
“I, therefore, question the Opposition: Is thievery only bad when your adversary commits it? But when they join hands with you, does it become acceptable?” the premier said. He said that a leader has to lead by example, so if the public would see that their leader is corrupt, people will also follow suit.
“When a nation becomes morally corrupt, they stop working hard because they resort to corruption as it brings easy money,” he said.
Responding to the Opposition’s criticism, the premier said that in the last three-and-a-half years, the PTI-led government did things for the betterment of the country that had been unprecedented in the country.
“I am the only leader in the history of Pakistan who brought up the issue of Islamophobia on every international platform. I thank Allah and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) for giving me success and now the United Nations has also acknowledged the issue.”
The prime minister said that Fazl, throughout his 30-year career, couldn’t muster the courage to bring the issue of Islamophobia up because he was scared of being labeled as a terrorist.
On Pakistan’s response to pandemic, other achievements
PM Imran Khan, while further praising the achievement of his government, said that under his leadership, the country steered itself out of the deadly coronavirus pandemic for which the entire world lauded Pakistan.
“The country is now on the path to progress which has been unprecedented in the country,” he said.
The premier then talked about the tax collection targets that his government achieved and also shed light on the record number of remittances received from abroad which, he said, added greatly to the national exchequer.
“We also broke records in terms of agricultural exports, industrial production, IT exports, and the construction sector,” he said. “The PTI government collaborated with different banks to provide [housing] loans to people so that they could become homeowners.”
He said that his government is the only one in the country’s history that has worked to modernise Lahore.
The prime minister also heaped praise on his government for successfully reaching an agreement with Barrick Gold for the development of the Reko Diq mine after 10 years of legal battles and negotiations.
“I congratulate the people of Balochistan on this landmark achievement,” he said.
PM Imran Khan then responded to criticism related to the prices of petroleum products in Pakistan and said: “The price of petrol in Pakistan is cheaper than Dubai even though the UAE produces its own oil.”
“Akin to that, the petrol price in India and the United Kingdom is also much higher as compared to our country.”
The premier then talked about his popular rhetoric of turning Pakistan into a welfare state — based on the model of Riyasat-e-Madina — and said that for the first time in the country’s history, the PTI government introduced the concept of the health card.
“Ever since I joined politics, I had always wanted to work on the health sector of the country. Now, the poor masses of the country will not have to worry about financing health as the government has provided every family with health insurance of Rs1 million.”
The premier then talked about different projects that the PTI government introduced for the betterment of the country, including the development of the tourism industry, the building of shelter homes, efforts to minimise the effects of climate change, the introduction of the single national curriculum.
PM Imran Khan then addressed the media and said that as the watchdog of the society, it has a big role to play in strengthening democracy, adding that it is the job of the media is to create awareness among the masses.
At the same time, he said, the media has to adopt ethical practices and stand against evil.
“Unfortunately, a lot of media houses work solely for money, and some even accept foreign funding. I leave it to the public to find out which media houses are standing with the thieves [the Opposition],” he said.
“The nation is observing the media and it can see which media house is working in favour of Pakistan and which one is a sell-out,” he said.
Paying homage to the people of Dargai, PM Imran Khan added that the public will support that party which will stand for Pakistan. We hope that PTI will emerge victorious in the upcoming local bodies elections. The public of Dargai stands with PTI. In the life of nation, the challenging times do come. The biggest dacoits of Pakistan have become united.
He further added that on one side the biggest dacoit of the country have united themselves, while on the other hand there are people who have done struggle of 25 years against these dacoits. The challenging times for the country have arrived. There is a difference between a conscience seller and a dacoit. The judiciary and election commission is observing the sellers of conscience.
The prime minister criticised Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and other opposition leaders who called him out for saying “absolutely not” to the US request for military bases in Pakistan and elucidated the context of his statement. “I had said absolutely not to a question when I was asked whether Pakistan will give a base to US in Pakistan for actions in Afghanistan… we cannot afford such an approach,” the premier explained. He said he had told the America time and again that Pakistan would support it in peace and not in any war.
The premier then fired a broadside at Shehbaz for objecting to his criticism of European Union envoys who had urged Pakistan to condemn Russia in the United Nations. Imran said the EU ambassadors had violated the protocol by asking Pakistan to condemn Russia.
“I rightly asked them whether they will write a similar letter to India… Are we their slaves that they ask us to give a statement against any country,” the PM said in a reiteration of his statement against the EU representatives earlier this month.
Imran Khan urged all the segments of society including youth to stand with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf against corrupt elements who are selling their conscience.