BS-22 officer slammed Russia to please US: Imran

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Monday claimed that when he returned from Russia, he was asked to condemn Moscow for the Ukraine attack.

In an address to intellectuals through a video link, the ousted premier said: “I talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin about procurement of oil at cheaper rates, but when I returned to Pakistan, I was asked to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine.”

“I said that India did not do that. We should also stay neutral like India,” he added. However, the powers-that-be at that time were not convinced. “A grade-22 officer made a foreign policy statement during a seminar to please the US,” the deposed prime minister said. He added that the country would have to face the consequences when decisions were made to please Washington.

Turning his guns towards the coalition government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the PTI leader said that as per the Constitution, the polls must be held within 90 days after the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, but “these people are making new excuses”.

Khan, earlier on Monday, decided to launch a ‘Save the Constitution’ drive [Aaeen Bachao Tehreek] if elections are not held within 90 days. He came down hard on the incumbent caretaker government in Punjab for axing the health card programme and said that the card which was introduced in their tenure had one million health insurance. It was a protection for the poor people and the world applauded the initiative as well but unfortunately, the government rolled it back.

He stressed the importance of establishing a just system in society, terming it necessary for unleashing the true potential of its people. Separately, talking to the PTI women wing, Imran Khan said Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) supremo Nawaz Sharif had set the conditions of his disqualification and detention. He said efforts were under way to disqualify him and block his way to forming his government. He said his opponents knew that he [Imran] would never issue any NRO [exemption] to them after coming to power, adding that they were terming his disqualification necessary for a ‘level playing field’.