Islamabad to be shut down after Muharram, says Imran

LAHORE: Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has given another ultimatum to both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the state institutions, threatening that he will not allow the PML-N government to function after Muharram if the premier did not present himself for accountability and the state institutions failed to take any action against him within a month.

“Nawaz Sharif’s corruption and money-laundering is an open-and-shut case. If the country’s institutions failed to take any action against him, we will shut down Islamabad after Muharram,” he threatened while addressing a large public meeting at Adda Plot, a few kilometres away from the Sharif family’s Jati Umra estate, on Friday night. Imran declared the event as the last public meeting against Nawaz Sharif and that he would no more hold any rallies against the PM but make a decisive move. He said it was Nawaz Sharif’s end now. He asked his party workers and supporters to make preparations for shutting down Islamabad, adding that “I willshutdown and come what may, I will never accept the destruction of the country under this dacoit (Nawaz Sharif).” He said he would have launched a sit-in at the rally place right from today (Friday) had there been no tension at borders with India. 

The public meeting was managed by the PTI single-handedly after his two allies – Tahirul Qadri and Chaudhrys of Gujrat – refused to go to the backyard of Nawaz Sharif. However, it turned out to be large enough for Imran Khan to issue a threat seemingly impossible to carry out. He also lashed out at his deserting allies and said: “I was criticised for being left alone by my allies. I have been calling them to join me against a corrupt prime minister. Did I ask them for a hand in matchmaking or something that they got angry? One said he was not ready to go outside Nawaz Sharif’s residence while the other had some other excuse for not coming.”

Luckily, only one incident of eve-teasing was reported in this rally, mainly because the women enclosure was kept entirely separate from the main enclosure. However, the security apparatus, bulk of which came from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) could not manage proper security as enthusiastic fans kept climbing over the razor-wire fences frequently to encroach upon the media enclosure and the enclosure housing the main stage of the leaders. When Imran Khan began his speech, a large number of workers jumped into the media enclosure by making many large breeches in the razor-wire fence, creating huge problems for the media persons in performing their duties. The charged workers occupied the chairs of the media persons and kept raising loud slogans and dancing in front of them all through the speech of Imran Khan which led to several incidents of wrangling and brawl with the media.

During the speech of Imran Khan, several video clips were played on large screens showing the Sharif family members including Maryam Nawaz, Kulsoom Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz making contradictory statements regarding the ownerships of London properties and factories in Jeddah and Dubai. Imran said Maryam's 'motu gang' vilified him daily. Besides, clips of PML-N leaders including Chaudhry Nisar, Khwaja Asif and Pervaiz Rashid were also shown, making contradictory statements regarding offshore properties and mills owned by the Sharif family. At the end, Imran emphasised that the corruption by Nawaz Sharif, as shown by the Panama Papers, was an open-and-shut case. He said Nawaz Sharif had committed four crimes, concealment of assets, corruption, tax evasion and money-laundering for which every proof was there and he should be indicted.

He further said that virtually every institution of the state including National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) etc, had been bought by Nawaz Sharif, as they had refrained from taking action against Nawaz Sharif and his family. He also asked the Supreme Court as to why it failed to take suo motu notice of the Sharif family corruption whereas it had been taking such notices in the past.

Imran accused the FBR chairman of transferring Rs250 million to Dubai every month, and the NAB chairman of closing his eyes to the corruption of Nawaz Sharif. He also accused TV anchor Najam Sethi of being bought out by Nawaz Sharif and said he was appointed as the PCB chairman for his alleged rigging in the 2013 elections in favour of the PML-N. Imran alleged that huge money was spent on two media channels by Nawaz Sharif government. 

Imran alleged that the PML-N operates in a set pattern that facilitates their corruption. They appoint corruptible close allies to important positions and once these corrupt individuals have served their master, Nawaz Sharif promotes them to a further higher office. He said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, PCB chairman and the Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan were the most prominent examples of the modus operandi.

He said Nawaz Sharif had gone to London for treatment of a heart ailment but, in fact, “he is suffering from stomach problems because the billions of rupees he made from corruption have become too hard to digest.” 

Terming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi an extremist and bigot, Imran warned him against any misadventure of surgical strikes or blocking river waters to Pakistan. He said “Mode must remember that entire Pakistani nation stood united behind the armed forces against Indian aggression, and that Pakistanis were not coward like Nawaz Sharif. 

“If Modi did not give up his jingoistic anti-Pakistan agenda, the so-called shining-India dream will be shattered to pieces within no time.” 

Imran said he was a man of peace and he wanted peace in the region, but if instigated, he will take the most aggressive step for the defence of Pakistan.

Imran said that the entire nation is united against anyone who casts an evil eye on Pakistan or its national interests. He warned Narendra Modi saying that if India ever thought of blocking Pakistan’s waters in violation of the agreements, the entire nation of India will resonate with the shock of Pakistani response. 

The PTI chairman said that Pakistanis are a fearless nation and we do not fear death. He quoted the glorious history of the Muslims and the decimation of Romans and Persians by Muslims. He warned Modi of similar consequences if he gets even slightly adventurous.

Imran urged the crowd to strengthen their faith in God as the supreme provider, stop fearing for their livelihoods and become whistleblowers to expose the corrupt practices of the government in the intuitions where they work. 

About the government’s statement regarding him being politically isolated, he said that hundreds of thousands of people present at Adda Plot was a resounding negation of such false propaganda by the government and the people of Pakistan stand with him in his campaign against corrupt government and for a ‘Naya Pakistan’.

Imran said the PTI government in KP had shown how it could reform the country for the better. He cited the examples of depoliticisation of policing department and establishment of an independent accountability institution. He alleged that the PML-N government had spent over Rs20 billion of the public money for their personal promotion through advertisements.

Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, in his typically sarcastic speech, warned that the crowd standing near Nawaz Sharif’s Raiwind estate under the leadership of Imran Khan could drown the Sharif family if they only spit collectively. He said: “If the crowd urinated there, the Raiwind estate would be washed away by that floodwater.” He also alleged that Indian army’s so-called surgical strike on the previous day was managed by Nawaz Sharif to deter the PTI from holding the public meeting. He said every time the PTI planned any political activity, the government agencies begin warning it of the threats of subversion and terrorism by RAW.

Sh Rashid also criticised PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for following the dictates of his father against his (Rashid’s) advice that he should only follow the policies of his mother Benazir and grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He also made personal remarks against Nawaz Sharif’s family members including his sons, calling them gongloos (goofs) and Thippers (worthless things). He said Nawaz Sharif was a fake Kashmiri while he (Rashid) was a genuine Kashmiri, since he lacked courage to reply Modi on liberating Kashmir.