PESHAWAR: Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former prime minister, questioned on Wednesday why the courts’ doors were opened late at night before his removal from office.
On April 9, the Supreme Court was set to hear a case that was filed after the deadline set by the apex court for voting on the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly had passed, as former NA speaker Asad Qaiser delayed the vote until nearly midnight, and the Islamabad High Court was also opened to hear another case.
In an unexpected turn of events, the speaker resigned and handed over the session to MNA Ayaz Sadiq, who conducted the vote on the no-confidence motion, making Khan the first prime minister to be deposed through democratic means.
However, at today’s rally in Peshawar, a charged Khan questioned the opening of courts and told the respected judges that he had gone to jail for an independent judiciary during the lawyer’s movement.
“At night, the courts were open. Why? Have I broken any laws?” He questioned, claiming that he has never incited people against institutions since entering politics.
“For Pakistan, I will live and die.”
The PTI chairman also warned that while he was not particularly dangerous while in government, he will now become “more dangerous” for the opposition now that he has been deposed.
People would celebrate when a prime minister was removed from office, Khan said, but when he was removed from office, the masses protested — referring to Sunday rallies across the country.
“We will not accept an imported government, and people have demonstrated their displeasure with the move,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Sharif, according to the PTI chairman, have been released on bail, while PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, whose daughter, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, has been released on bail.
“The United States has insulted Pakistan by imposing these bandits on us; Shehbaz Sharif is facing Rs40 billion in corruption charges,” Khan added. “The United States conspired to assassinate Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, but this is not the Pakistan of 1970.” “This is the new Pakistan,” says the narrator.
Ex-prime minister Khan has repeatedly blamed the United States for backing the no-confidence motion that led to his ouster early Sunday and has refused to accept the newly elected premier, saying “there can’t be any bigger insult to this country” — but US Vice President Joe Biden’s administration has denied any involvement.
“If I ask the masses to stage protests, he will not find a place to hide,” Khan said, referring to Prime Minister Shehbaz.”
Following the successful ouster of the PTI Chairman, PM Shehbaz was sworn in as Prime Minister on April 11.
Those who orchestrated the plot, according to the former premier, were overjoyed that he was removed from power. “I wasn’t dangerous when I was in the government, but I’ll be even more so now.”
“For 30 years, ‘diesel’ has been selling Islam,” Khan said, referring to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. “But I thank Allah that it was I, a sinful person, who went to the United Nations to get a resolution against Islamophobia passed.”
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He claimed that “India and Israel celebrated my ouster the most,” shedding light on how foreign powers were involved in his demise.
PTI Vice-Chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressed the jalsa before Khan, criticizing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for congratulating Shehbaz Sharif on becoming the country’s 23rd Prime Minister, as per diplomatic protocol.
“Modi has started tweeting to Shehbaz, but he has never called Imran Khan,” Qureshi said. “Imran Khan was correct when he said that one day, all other politicians will be united in their opposition to him.”
Bilawal and Fazlur Rehman, according to Qureshi, do not share an ideology, but they have similar vested interests.
He also took a shot at the MQM-P, which had been a PTI ally but had switched sides before the no-confidence motion, saying that MQM-leadership P’s had opposed the PPP for three years but had gone ahead and shook hands with them.
“However, the Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui-led party now sits in the lap of the PPP,” he said.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari responded to Imran Khan’s fiery speech on Twitter, criticizing the PTI chief for criticizing the country’s judiciary.
The constitution had been violated, according to Bilawal, by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, President Arif Alvi, and ex-Premier Khan.
“[Khan] attempted to gain political advantage by exploiting NSC. Institutions are now neutral, and Imran will have nowhere to hide,” Bilawal wrote on Twitter.
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Meanwhile, PML-N Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal said Imran Khan had violated the Constitution in a tweet.
“Imran Khan acted in defiance of the Constitution. This is why the courthouse doors were opened at 12 a.m. “Constitutional violators must be punished,” he demanded.
