Defense Minister Khawaja Asif issued a warning on Friday, saying that the power and authority of the government will be used to stop any violence instigated by PTI Chairman Imran Khan or his “cult” supporters.
The defense minister Khawaja Asif and the information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb while speaking at a press conference for international journalists in Islamabad called Imran Khan a hypocrite.
Asif opened the news conference by criticizing Imran Khan, the arch-rival of the current administration and a former prime minister, for his “hypocrisy.”
“His political career began with a cipher in which he claimed that the US was involved in a plot against the PTI administration,” Asif said.
“And today, Shireen Mazari has written a letter to the US for him […] the country he once accused of conspiracy … he is now seeking help from them,” he stated.
Asif asserted that the sequence of events following the no-confidence vote “shows the complete sum of Imran’s trip — his removal from office and his SOS to the US for assistance.”
Asif referred to the recent events of the ex-premier’s appearance at the Federal Judicial Complex on March 18, said that he said that he had never seen any such scenes in the world where an accused person had failed to appear in court.
“And when he appears before the court, his attendance is marked while he is sitting in his car, his supporters mob the courts and intimidate them […] they (the courts) come under pressure and face threats.”
He went on to say that when the police were sent to Imran’s house to make an arrest, the officers there came under attack from slings, petrol bombs, stones, and sticks.
“In Pakistan, nothing like this has ever occurred. Opposition figures were detained and respectfully turned themselves in before and during Imran’s rule,” Asif claimed.
“Whatever victimization took place, they never physically contested their arrest, never abused or maligned the courts,” the minister stressed.
In answer to a query, the minister said the administration had been attempting to come to an agreement on economic measures for the previous year, but the proposals had been turned down.
He has often volunteered to speak with military leadership, but not with political leadership. Imran insisted despite the current administration’s willingness to engage in dialogue on several times, even going so far as to make contact with the Pakistan Army’s current top brass.
Asif continued by saying that before that, the PTI leader had often spoken with former army head General Qamar Javed Bajwa via the president and had even extended an invitation to him.
