Country can’t afford weak military, says PTI chairman

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday said the country could not afford a weak military, as it is the nation’s asset that must not be weakened.

Speaking at a seminar, Khan said mistakes happen, and one should take a step back to reconsider that they have made a mistake. “Increasing the distances between the military and the people would be a loss for Pakistan and its armed force both,” he added.

He reiterated that his struggle was to get rid of the Sharif and Zardari families from the political front who have been taking turns to rule the country for the past 30 years.

“The country has been ruled half the time by these two families and half the time by the dictators,” he said, claiming that all the dictators in the past weakened the country’s institutions and put fear above the law.

Khan said freedom of expression was crucial for every nation, and no society can thrive without it, adding the media was never a threat to him, nor he took any action against it during his tenure.

“I have never done anything wrong and never stole anything from the nation. I will not allow others to do it as well,” he maintained. “Those families (Sharifs and Zardaris) controlled the media and judiciary to cover their corruption”, he added.

Talking about the missing person’s case, Imran Khan said he had spoken to army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, the then director general Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). “They’d said the case was being taken to the court,” he added.

He said the ‘imported regime’ which has been imposed on us all is bent upon rigging the Sunday’s by-elections, but no matter what the people would respond to them.

He also said those knew about the conspiracy should have realized how damaging these ‘thieves’ would be for the country.

He said that the cypher which was sent to Pakistan would not be acceptable to even a banana republic, adding as long as he is there he would not accept any dictation from any country.

Khan said that the establishment which enjoys all the power should play its due role as they are well aware what sort of crisis the country has been facing after imposition of an imported regime.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022