LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)chief Imran Khan on Friday reiterated his call for holding dialogue among stakeholders “immediately” as, he thought, what was being done was not a solution to the country’s woes.
Addressing via video link, he said whenever he called for dialogue, he began to face mounted pressure. “Do not dare think that I am weak because whenever I call for it, police come outside my home, and warrants are issued,” he added.
He started off by mocking that he was not addressing today because he was about leave the PTI, adding that he wanted to tell people why he started politics. “Do not destroy Pakistan in an attempt to crush the PTI,” he said.
He went on to say that crackdown was launched against the party without investigating the attacks on Lahore’s Commander House. He asked if anyone would like to harm the army, adding that attacking the army was akin to weakening the country.
“Have we ever said that we do not condemn the attacks,” he asked. “The PTI has videos of police officers burning the vehicles during the protests,” he added.
He said “forced divorces” were giving the impression that the PTI was ending, adding that “a party ceases to exist when its ideology ends”. “I will keep fighting until I am alive,” he added.
Highlighting the negative changes in economic indicators since he was ousted in 2022, he said the country was sinking continuously, adding that a new storm was about to hit the country. “If we do not control it, it will go out of hands,” he warned.
He reiterated that the government wanted to hold elections after it was sure that the PTI had been crushed. “When people are imbued with sense of freedom, they do not fear arrests,” he added.
