RAWALPINDI – Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that protests outside the IMF office abroad by Pakistani expatriates were justified, but he was unaware of any sloganeering against the army.
Speaking informally to reporters inside the courtroom at Adiala Jail, Khan said that Pakistan must bring political stability before seeking loan from the IMF and political stability would return to the country only when people are given back their stolen mandate. He said that Pakistan got record loans in the last 18 months.
Khan said the concept of a caretaker government was destroyed. He said there was a connivance among the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the state institutions. Therefore, he said, he doesn’t trust anyone of them. He said that free and fair elections should be held in the country and he would accept the results regardless of who is elected.
He said the PTI alone got 30 million votes while all other parties collectively got 30 million votes. He demanded audit of the February 8 general elections.
Commenting on the meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Khan said that Gandapur shouldn’t have done a photo session with Sharif. He said he feared that the Sharif-led federal government would not give Khyber Pakhtunkhwa its share of funds.
Khan said that Pakistan’s economy was sinking; therefore, there was an urgent need for reforms in the country. He said the current government can’t sustain. He said it’s not justice that you first rob my house and then ask me to forget it. He said that so-called champions of the “respect the vote” campaign are now respecting the boots, a reference to the alleged connivance between the military establishment and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He said the Sharif family could not live without the boots, a reference to army’s support.
Answering a question about the Israeli brutalities against Palestinians, Khan said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should have taken a stand on this issue, but they didn’t and then South Africa did this job. He said that Pakistan can’t initiate a war on the Palestine issue.
When asked about the £190 million corruption case against him, Khan said this amount hasn’t been even stolen, but the trial is going on. He said the only reason this case was being pursued in the court was that it would be used to keep him in jail in case he gets bail in other cases.
Referring about Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s decision to part ways with the PTI, Khan said “we will miss the humorous side of his personality”.
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