By Arif Malik
ISLAMABAD: Terming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s security an issue not to be ignored, PTI senior leader and former interior minister Brig. (retd) Ejaz Shah has warned that any harm to his party leader would lead to instability in the whole region.
In an interview with Wenews, Brig. Shah said Imran Khan’s security was the state’s responsibility as he ranked the latter the country’s most popular leader at the moment. He said, “Imran Khan had already survived an attempt on his life… he was lucky enough. Liaqat Ali Khan and Benazir Bhutto were eliminated, so the state should ensure Khan’s responsibility.”
When asked about Imran Khan’s demand for a court martial of Gen. (retd) Bajwa, Ejaz Shah replied that the question should be directed to the person who demanded so. To a question, he said Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was not released under some deal. He boasted that the Pakistani forces, through a timely action, had responded to the Indian aggression. He said that Imran Khan and the armed forces unanimously decided to hand over Abhinandan to India as a gesture of cordiality. To another question, Shah said that security was not the reason for his removal as interior minister of the country
The former interior minister said that 9/11 incident had posed serious threats to the region’s security. “NATO countries believed that Afghanistan’s spillover effect would harm the rest of the world,” he added. He further said that 10-15 years long war in Afghanistan caused further unrest in the region. “At that time, newborns in Afghanistan would hear the sound of gunfire before ‘Azaan’,” he held.
Brig. Shah was of the view that stability in Afghanistan would equally benefit Pakistan. He maintained that situation in Pakistan deteriorated in 1979 after Russia invaded Afghanistan. Western countries thought Russia was finding new sea routes and later Pakistan fought a proxy for the US. “It was for the first time when Pakistan’s security came under threat,” he concluded.
