Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has separated himself from the pilgrims who hounded and chanted slogans against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation during their visit to Masjid-e-Nabwi on Thursday, saying he could “not even imagine” of telling anyone to chant slogans at the sacred place.
Imran said this during an interview with a local news channel which will be aired on the first day of Eid-ul Fitr.
“I have raised my voice against Islamophobia at every forum,” Khan can be seen saying in a short clip of the interview. “The reason for doing so is my belief that until you do not love Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), your faith is not complete. I cannot think of asking anyone to chant slogans at that sacred place. Nobody who loves the prophet (PBUH) can even think of it.”
The PTI chairman said that overseas Pakistanis had come out openly “like never before” in protest against the ouster of his government. He said that his party was not asking them to come out adding that their numbers were unprecedented. The people were protesting because of their pain at what had transpired and they were angry.
PTI had taken out protest rallies across the country on April 10, one day after Imran Khan lost a vote of no-confidence. Since then, Khan has addressed rallies attended by thousands in several cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
