Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has warned the unity government to give him the date for fresh elections or “the ocean of people that is coming to Islamabad will wash away everything”.
“I am giving you a warning if you don’t give us an election date, the ocean of people coming to Islamabad will blow you away,” he said while addressing a massive public gathering in Mardan on Friday.
Calling former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the “biggest coward he has seen in his entire life”, Imran said that he cannot make decisions for the nation by sitting in London. “Only people of this country have that right… they will decide who will lead them,” he added.
The public gathering is part of protests announced by the former ruling party as it continues to up the ante against the coalition government. Imran Khan had said he will announce the date for his long march to Islamabad any time after May 20.
Lashing out at JUI-F Amir Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Imran said that he has snatched the ministry which will fetch him the most money. “I am not calling Fazlur Rehman a maulana as I respect clerics a lot … I am only calling him diesel now,” he added.
Asking people to break the “shackles of fear” and join him in Islamabad, the former premier said that despite campaigns against him in the media, the Almighty gave him honour and proof of this are the people coming to this rally.
“These US slaves will never let this nation become a great nation.”
The PTI chief said he went to those who could’ve stopped the “conspiracy” from materializing but they did nothing. “I told them if this succeeds, the economy will go into tailspin… I sent Shaukat to those who call themselves neutral but unfortunately, they did not stop it.”
The former PM said that the rupee is now at almost Rs200 and the economic downfall can be witnessed by everyone.
He questioned why the media now is not going door-to-door and asking people about inflation
“I know who is part of this conspiracy…. each face is saved in my memory. I want Chief Justice of Supreme Court to form a commission and ask them to find out about the traitors,” he added.
Imran Khan said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will go to the US only to beg in front of the Americans.
“He will not be able to take any stand against them as they know where his money is… he will only beg for money but I know Americans the best… they will say there is no free lunch… they will put a price on it and what will be the price? It will be your freedom,” he added.
The PTI chief said that the US will ask Pakistan to give statements against Russia and in favour of Ukraine.
“They asked me but I said it is not our war. When slaves are in power, they will do whatever their masters say,” he added.
Imran Khan said that transparent elections cannot take place under the current chief election commissioner. “The entire nation knows who the lotas are but only the chief election commissioner cannot see them,” he added.
Talking about the achievements of the PTI government, he said that they managed to save people from both coronavirus and poverty. “Only 31,000 people died in Pakistan whereas five million died in India,” he maintained.
“When we assumed power, the country was on the verge of bankruptcy because of the loans taken by previous governments,” he said and added that his government raised 60% more tax collection and the country witnessed record exports during PTI’s tenure.
“When we were on the verge of takeoff, they conspired against our government because they don’t want Pakistan to become prosperous,” he added.
PTI had announced that it will launch a protest against the alleged foreign conspiracy of regime change and the ousting of former prime minister Imran Khan in a series of rallies throughout the country.
The party has so far managed to pull massive crowed in many cities throughout the country including Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
Khan said his relationship with the establishment was good till the last day of his government, but there were two issues on which they did not see eye to eye.
The former prime minister said “powerful quarters” wanted Usman Buzdar removed as the chief minister, but he would tell them that there was “more corruption and governance issues in Sindh”.
The second disagreement with the establishment was over the issue of Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, as he wanted the army official to serve as the Inter-Services Intelligence chief till the “winters”, given the situation in Afghanistan and due to then-opposition’s “plot”.
The ex-premier said he was still receiving messages from the establishment but he has “blocked their numbers” and would only speak to them once the date for the elections is announced.
Imran Khan was warmly greeted by a massive crowd at the Railway Station Ground located on Mardan-Nowshera road upon his arrival earlier.
According to media reports, an 80-feet long and 30-feet wide stage was set for the central leadership of PTI. Strict security measures were also put in place for the rally.
