LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday said that he and his party were not responsible for rising terrorism and inflation in the county as the government is blaming.
Addressing the nation via video link, the former premier talked about the terrorist attack in Peshawar, saying, “Everybody knew, the reaction would come after the Afghan jihad. The drone attacks were started in the tribal areas in 2004. I was the only one to raise my voice against the drone attacks.” Khan commended the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police’s sacrifices.
He slammed the government for shifting blame over rising terrorism and berating his party for its policy towards the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP).
“I am not in power anymore. Had I been in the government, then I would have been answerable,” the PTI chief hit out at the centre during his, while also claiming that terrorism was under control during his tenure.
The PTI chief, while also mentioning that he wasn’t responsible for terrorism and rising inflation, said that he was devastated over the attack in Peshawar.
“I feared instability in Afghanistan […] there were 30,000-40,000 fighters in Afghanistan. Then, a decision was taken by the parliament members and the armed forces that these fighters would be settled in Pakistan.”
The PTI chief then added that as he feared instability, his government tried to negotiate with the group to ensure that Afghanistan’s fallout does not affect Pakistan.
Khan claimed that had the coalition parties not removed his party from power, then the situation would have been completely different. “Why did they remove my government when they could not run the country?”
The PTI chairman added that the incumbent rulers’ only reason for coming into power was to get their corruption cases worth Rs1,100 billion “closed”.
Khan added that his relationship with former army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa was smooth, and they were on the same page for some time.
But then, Khan mentioned, that after the ex-army chief was granted an extension in his tenure in 2019, he wanted the PTI government to forgive the cases against then-opposition leaders. “I did not listen to him.”
The second bone of contention, he said, was the removal of Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid Inter-Services Intelligence chief. “There was a fear of war in Afghanistan which is why I wanted Faiz Hamid to retain his position.
Moving on, Khan said that when Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari goes to court against him, he will be asked what “reputation” was damaged.
