ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Monday plainly said that he had no idea about the statement made by his chief of staff – Dr Shahbaz Gill – which led to his arrest for allegedly inciting mutiny in the military.
Speaking at a seminar on the “independence of the judiciary”, he said that Gill later informed him about the comments he had made.
Khan, during the speech, said that Gill was taken into custody without any arrest warrants, adding “Gill was stripped naked and his pictures were taken”.
The former prime minister said that the female magistrate found out from the report that Gill was tortured, but she approved his physical remand.
In the same breath, he said that people came out on the streets last night, otherwise, the “fascist regime” could have resorted to torture him as it did with Gill.
“If they had succeeded to arrest me like Shahbaz Gill, they could have also tortured me,” he added.
Khan said that great things can be done by a free man and not by a slave, adding that if there is no justice in a society, there can be no prosperity in society.
He reiterated that the female magistrate should have at least checked that Shahbaz Gill was tortured but instead she granted physical remand to the police.
“The PTI is fighting a battle for the future of Pakistan, establishing the rule of law in the country is the future of the country,” he added.
He said that if the rule of law is not established in the country, “we cannot avoid economic disaster while all the development of Shehbaz Sharif was done in advertisements, the price of electricity was doubled, the common class is in a bad situation, the economy is shrinking and debts are increasing”.
Khan said that the awareness among people is not going to be controlled no matter how hard people try to stop it, adding the day is not far when Pakistan will be changed altogether where there will be prosperity, rule of law and justice for all.
Noted lawyers like Aitzaz Ahsan, Salman Akram Raja, and others also addressed the seminar.
Aitzaz Ahsan said that he had always been a great fan of Imran Khan, but “he uses religion too much in politics”.
“Imran Khan might be trying to compete with Maulana Fazlur Rehman [of the JUI-F] which is not good, as we all should refrain from using religion in politics as much as we can,” he added.
While responding to Ahsan’s objection, Khan said: “My neighbour Aitzaz Ahsan said that I use religion too much [in politics], but I would like to say that if Allah had not guided me, I could have stayed quiet. I was blessed with everything and if you are blessed there comes a responsibility.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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