Nawaz’s speech aimed at sabotaging civil-military bond: PM Imran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has asserted that the speech of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was aimed at “sabotaging” the relationship between the government and the army.

“However, the army fully supports the government because we are not corrupt,” he said while talking to news directors of various TV channels today (Friday).

PM Imran said that Nawaz Sharif’s speech was an attempt to propagate Indian narrative against Pakistan. “We had allowed the broadcast of Nawaz Sharif’s speech because we knew that many leaders would protest in name of freedom of expression,” he added.

The premier further said that following Nawaz’s speech against the army, celebrations broke out in India. “Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who had pushed for the conference, is only carried along by the opposition because they have no one else,” he claimed.

“The opposition has an agenda of driving a wedge between the government and the army,” he said, adding that the current harmony that exists between the civil and military leadership was historic.

The Prime Minister asserted that he will hold elections on vacant seats if opposition lawmakers resign. Commenting over opposition’s planned protest demonstrations, he said that the PTI government was not afraid of opposition.

He reiterated that he would not give any National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)-like concession to the opposition and will hold by-elections on seats vacated by opposition lawmakers.

Referring to the recent meetings between the civil and military leadership, he said that all such meetings are held with his knowledge. “What can I even say about those who seek to meet the army secretly?”

He also said that there was no political future of PPP leader Asif Zardari and PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif and they keep JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman with them because they do not have the manpower.

Talking about the sugar and wheat crisis, he said that sugar and wheat crisis won’t occur this year in the country as the government has finalised strategy, but on the same hand has warned that a major gas crisis would occur in the upcoming winter season.