While terming the release of Raymond Davis as 'match fixing,' Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday lashed out at the federal and provincial governments for the move and also announced countrywide protest from Friday (today).
Speaking at a news conference, Khan held the federal as well as provincial government of Punjab equally responsible for the release of Raymond Davis and also urged the nation and all political parties to support the PTI protest call. To a question regarding role of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Davis's release, Imran said that "everybody is filth-laden in this arena," however, on the role of military, he added that there is no dictatorship in the country today, but it is the democratic government, which has let the Davis go.
On the role of judiciary, Imran said that he was disappointed with the lower judiciary; however, when asked whether he would take up the issue to higher judiciary, he said that the apex court was already over busy and should not be overburdened. He said that the nation should adopt a strong stance on release of Davis, cautioning that Pakistani would be killed in broad daylight by the Americans, as a matter of routine, particularly referring to the killing by Davis in Lahore.
He revealed that 32,000 Pakistanis have been killed since 9/11, while those injured in the incidents of terrorism and bomb blasts are countless, warning that killing of Pakistanis like sacrificial animals should be stopped forthwith. Imran said that he was enraged over the Pakistani rulers and not on the US adding that the protest of the PTI would be against the rulers, urging human rights organisations and political parties' activists to participate in the rallies.
He pointed out that the US, which calls it a civilised nation should have settled the case of Davis in the court of law instead of 'match-fixing.' He cautioned that the move would further increase anti-US sentiments among Pakistanis and may increase terrorism. "The American must know that the release of Davis in such a manner would further add fuel to the fire of extremism and terrorism, besides increasing anti-US sentiments," he pointed out.
He said that the release of Davis under mysterious circumstances is another betrayal by Punjab and federal governments and the nation wants to know as why no case was registered against Davis for committing an act of terror under the Anti-Terrorism Act? He stated that since the US government has denied paying any money as Diyat to the affected families and asked that the nation must be told that who paid the money and from which government account. "Why was the money of taxpayers paid to the victim families as a deal to free an alleged US killer of two innocent Pakistanis," he asked.
The PTI chief pointed out that if the PML-N's government was not involved in the deal then on what grounds the Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah announced the release of Davis at around 6:00 pm in the evening, adding that Davis was reported to have left the country in a plane waiting since a night earlier. He further asked that who will be responsible for the killing of the third Pakistani, Obaid-ur-Rehman who was crushed to death by a US embassy vehicle that day when Davis shot dead two Pakistanis and asked the consulate for help.
Referring to the repeated US drone attacks in tribal areas, Imran also demanded of independent commission to probe into the killings of innocent people as a result of the attacks. He was of the view that society has been divided in different sects due to the presence of many more 'Davises' in the country that have posed serious threat to the security of Pakistan.