ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Imran Khan Saturday asserted that he would not betray the oath and Pakistan, adding he was alone but would fight for the nation and never compromise on it.
He expressed these views during his interaction with a group of senior journalists.
Imran Khan was quoted as telling journalists that he would not accept defeat come what may and not let the foreign conspiracy succeed. He again came hard on the opposition and said they were together just to protect their wealth.
“This opposition can’t do anything; what they can do is to put me in jail and that is all it can do,” he contended.
Earlier, he presided over a special meeting of the federal cabinet, the second in as many days to take stock of the latest situation and weigh future options in the face of dicey situation inside and outside Parliament.
The federal cabinet was of the firm view that in the given situation, Prime Minister should not step down.
The cabinet approved sharing of the ‘threat letter’ with the NA Speaker, Senate Chairman and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). According to sources, a deciphered letter would be shared with NA Speaker, Senate Chairman and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
Those who attended the meeting, included federal ministers Pervaiz Khattak, Dr Shireen Mazari, Shafqat Mehmood and Murad Saeed. The meeting did not last for long.
Earlier, Imran Khan addressed a fund-raising ceremony of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Trust Hospital but the electronic media almost ignored his speech and focused on the National Assembly proceedings.
It was noted that while the state-run TV telecast Imran Khan’s full speech but private television channels either overlooked the event or opted for a few seconds or minutes of its coverage.
Addressing the ceremony, Imran Khan said that there is hardly any nation in the world as open-hearted as the Pakistanis are and there is no precedent for the whole world to build a hospital and run it.
He explained that Pakistanis have given Rs63 billion to Shaukat Khanum Hospital for the treatment of the poor patients. He said that there were difficult stages in Shaukat Khanum Project but “we did not reduce the treatment and kept our promise and we didn't run out of money.” He added that cancer is a fatal disease due to its expensive treatment.
He said that cancer is more fatal than other diseases because if one is diagnosed with cancer, there is fear of death and secondly its treatment is the most expensive.
Imran Khan expressed gratitude to God that most of the patients can survive if the cancer is diagnosed early as this is a big change.
He said that the hospital will be bigger than one in Lahore where people from Sindh and Balochistan will also come for treatment. “I commend my Pakistani nation for this. We have a shortage of hospitals, cancer patients come every day, but space is scarce and we send them back despite being treatable, that is why we have built a hospital in Karachi and it will be operational by next year,” he said.
Imran Khan said that the state of Madinah had a system of humanity, justice and self-reliance and the nations which deviate from these principles are not respected in the world.
He said, “We have come on the path, which will make Pakistan a great nation.”