LAHORE: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday expressed fears that those who want him dead may try to kill him again as the ‘true attacker’ is still at large. He said this on Thursday in an interview to French news outlet France24.
In the interview, he said that his attackers might still feel that the job was not done, which was why he was now taking precautionary measures. “They think that the only way to get me out of the way is actually [to] eliminate me. So I think that there is a threat still,” he said.
Imran reiterated his accusation that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and a senior military official as being responsible for the November 3 Wazirabad attack because they feel threatened by him.
The former prime minister added that the suspect apprehended soon after the attack in Wazirabad was just a ‘decoy’ the divert attention away from the real attacker who remained at large. He contested the official view that there was just a single attacker by maintaining that he was shot at from two separate directions pointing to the presence of two attackers.
Imran reiterated that “he only trusts an investigation helmed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court to hold transparent investigations into the attack.” He argued that any other investigation, especially one involving the country’s powerful intelligence agencies could be influenced or tainted by the federal government.
Despite the lingering threat, following which a bullet-proof cubicle was erected atop his principle container, Imran vowed to rejoin his party’s march in person when it reached Rawalpindi later that month.
On his recent climbdown from accusations that the US were involved in an international conspiracy with the government coalition to engineer a surprising vote of no-confidence loss that effectively ended his government, Imran said he still accuses Washington of having played a key role.
Despite that, Imran maintained that he did not wish to go against the interests of the people of Pakistan by antagonizing a global superpower.
Stating that he has burnt his bridges and there was no going back, Imran on Thursday told his supporters who are holding rallies in various cities of Pakistan that he would announce on Saturday when he would go to Rawalpindi.
He also linked Pakistan’s economic survival to fresh elections and hence ‘ouster’ of a government of thieves. He said this while addressing his party’s Haqeeqi Azadi Long March on Thursday afternoon via video link from his Zaman Town mansion in Lahore.
The marchers, in separate convoys, reached Jhelum, Khushab, Peshawar and Chakdara on Thursday.
Imran, who has been reeling from the Toshakhana scandal where he allegedly retained state gifts for a fraction of their assessed values but then sold them at a profit, he said that country’s fragile economy was demanding an election as soon possible.
He said some 50 million people have been living below the poverty line in the country. He expressed the fear that if the incumbent government continues for a while longer, another 50 million will fall into poverty.
“The prices of dollar will go up, while essential commodities such as vegetables would become beyond the reach of common people,” he said. He lamented that instead of focusing on improving the national economy, the government was trying to hide traces of their alleged corruption.
“Their only focus is how to save the money they made via corruption over the past 20 years,” he said. “The purpose of appointment of their own army chief is also to save their corruption money, because their army chief would free them to do more corruption,” he said.
He further said they had covered up Rs11 billion of corruption by amending the law. “That is why they tried to eliminate the opposition by attacking the rally in Warirabad,” he said, adding that “I mentioned three names, who were behind the attack, but it is unfortunate that I cannot register an FIR against them as yet.” He said they should not be given NRO because they would harm the country.
Imran further said there was only one way to save the country, which was a transparent election. “PTI won 29 seats in by-election, they saw PTI’s victory, that’s why they fear announcing a date for elections,” he said.
Later, he also calls his supporters that ‘must prepare yourself to be in Rawalpindi’. “I will announce the date of Rawalpindi march on Saturday, then there will be a sea of people,” he said.
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