MARDAN: Ex-Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday disclosed that he was still receiving messages from the establishment but he has “blocked their numbers” and would only speak to them once the date for the elections is announced.
In a conversation with journalists in Mardan ahead of addressing PTI’s public rally, he further said that his relationship with the establishment was good till the last day of his government, but there were two issues on which they did not see eye to eye.
The former prime minister said “powerful quarters” wanted Usman Buzdar removed as the chief minister, but he would tell them that there was “more corruption and governance issues in Sindh”.
The second disagreement with the establishment was over the issue of Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, as he wanted the general to serve as the Inter-Services Intelligence chief till the “winters”, given the situation in Afghanistan and due to the then opposition’s “plot”.
Khan said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not the only “Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq”, as there are others as well and he would disclose their names when the time comes.
Khan asked people who supported the “conspiracy” whether they were not worried about Pakistan’s future. “It would have been better to drop an atom bomb on Pakistan than to have these people in power.”
The PTI chairman said he had learned about the “conspiracy” in June last year, but unfortunately, “all the decisions” were made to weaken his government — and it was eventually ousted.
Moving on, the PTI chairman questioned which government official would “dare” to proceed with cases against “these corrupt people”.
Khan added that he was of the view that corruption would be an issue for the powerful quarters and that he was on the same page as them regarding the matter.
“But I am surprised that such thieves were brought into power. Corruption is not an issue for the powerful people,” the PTI chairman said.
