Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Saturday reiterated that thieves – a euphemism he uses to label incumbent rulers of the PDM – have been imposed on Pakistan.
“Parliament is dysfunctional… it is a joke,” said the former premier while speaking in an interview with a private news channel. Imran claimed that former army chief General (r) Qamar Javed Bajwa’s behaviour changed after he got an extension in his tenure as the military’s head. “General Bajwa changed after the extension and compromised with the Sharifs. He decided, at that time, to give them the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).”
Reiterating his claim about the ex-army chief hiring Hussain Haqqani – Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States of America – to topple Khan’s government, the PTI chief said: “They hired Hussain Haqqani through the Foreign Office and we didn’t know. They met Haqqani in Dubai and hired him in September 2021.” The ousted prime minister, who departed from office following a no-confidence motion last spring, linked the alleged cypher by US diplomat Donald Lu – which Khan claimed was part of a conspiracy to topple his government – was a result of the lobbying in America.
The ex-prime minister said he hoped for the post-Bajwa establishment to be neutral but complained that “Mr X and Mr Y asserted their pressure in Punjab and threatened our people to join the PML-N.” Speaking on the names proposed for the interim chief minister in Punjab, Khan said that his party and allies gave trustworthy names for the post in the province. He also slammed the candidates named by the opposition claiming that one is Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Zardari’s front man, while the other is Shehbaz Sharif’s.
“One name was involved in regime change against us. If the election commission appoints such a man, we won’t accept it,” the PTI chairman asserted. Terming the recently-held local body elections in Karachi as “pointless”, Khan said: “Elections have not taken place in Karachi.” Complaining about the results of the polls, he asked how the people of Karachi could possibly elect the PPP. “Karachi’s residents have great awareness; how can they elect PPP?”
