Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Wednesday slammed the government for blaming his tenure in government for rising terrorism and uncontrolled inflation 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 address to the nation 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.
Khan said those in power who ruled for 30 years were responsible for the ongoing crisis.
“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 did not affect Pakistan.
Imran Khan questions his ousting from power
Khan claimed that had the coalition parties not removed his party from power; 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 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.
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.
PPP earlier his week sent an Rs10 billion legal notice to the PTI chairman for levelling “baseless allegations” against its co-chairperson. Khan had blamed Zardari for plotting to have him assassinated.
“Asif Zardari will have to take an oath and inform the court about how many people he had murdered. I want Zardari to ensure he goes to court against me,” he said.
Khan said that he has “solid information” about Zardari’s alleged plot to kill him.
