Opposition’s Gujranwala rally a political circus: PM Imran
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan today (Saturday) has asserted that the Opposition’s Gujranwala rally, under the banner of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), was nothing but a political circus.
He expressed his views while addressing the Tiger Force convention in Islamabad. The address comes a day after the Opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) held its first power show in Gujranwala.
During the address, the Prime Minister played an old clip of one of his interviews in which he said that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari will unite to protect their own corruption.
“Eleven years ago, I had predicted this that there will be this circus. However, I will not talk about the two children who made speeches; I do not want to talk about them,” he said, referring to Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto.
The Prime Minister further said, “One of them may be a grandmother but I will still call her a child as they have no political experience. These two have not done an hour’s halal work in their lives.”
‘Nawaz Sharif a hypocrite’
“I want to talk about the person who spoke from London,” he said, referring to Nawaz Sharif. He went ahead and showed two before and after pictures of Nawaz. “Look at this face when he wanted to go to London and the second one is of him after he reached London,” he added.
The premier lashed out at former premier Nawaz Sharif for allegedly maligning the top army leadership. “Nawaz Sharif himself was launched into politics through the help of the military establishment,” he remarked.
Commenting on the speech given by Nawaz during the opposition rally, PM Imran said that Nawaz used inappropriate language against the army and ISI chiefs at a time Pakistani soldiers were constantly sacrificing their lives for the nation.
“The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hated Pakistan and Muslims more than any other Indian government in the history of the subcontinent,” he added.
He also pointed out a recent attack on Pakistani soldiers, in which 20 security personnel were martyred in two attacks on Thursday. “They are sacrificing their lives every day,” he remarked.
“Amid this, jackal (geedar) who ran with his tail between his legs used such language for the army chief and DG ISI,” he asserted, referring to Nawaz Sharif.
He highlighted that Nawaz Sharif first became a minister through the patronage of Gen (retd) Ghulam Jilani and later became Chief Minister by ‘polishing the boots of Gen Ziaul Haq’.
He also accused the PML-N leader of having received billions of rupees from Meeran Bank to fight elections against the PPP. “The ISI chief at the time had submitted a report in this regard to the Supreme Court,” he claimed.
“Unfortunately, our courts have always helped him. This is the man who put PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in jail twice. It was Zardari who instituted the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against him, not Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa,” he added.
The Prime Minister also cited several books written by Western authors, which he said detailed Nawaz and Zardari’s alleged corruption during their first stints in power. “These corrupt people can sell the country to save stolen money,” he said, adding that the books he mentioned were not written by Gen Bajwa.
He further said that the attack was not on Gen Bajwa but the Pakistan Army. “This is the same thing Narendra Modi was talking about,” he said, adding that Modi had repeatedly said that he liked Nawaz but that the Pakistani army chief was a terrorist.
‘A new Imran Khan’
The Prime Minister went on to say that the opposition has so far seen one Imran Khan. “I used to say: give them production orders and invite them to assemblies. The Imran Khan you will be seeing now is going to be a different one,” he remarked.
PM Imran also said that no looter of the country would get a production order. “I also want to send a message to our judiciary and NAB. People want the money that was taken from them to be returned,” he added.
“I request the chief justice: whatever logistical support you need, we will provide it. But for God’s sake, hear these cases on a daily basis and wrap them up,” he requested.
While referring to National Accountability Bureau (NAB), PM Imran said, “You have done a lot of good work, but for God’s sake, take these cases to their logical end. The nation is waiting,” he added.
