Nawaz to be responsible if third force stepped in, says Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has once again signalled the possibility of raising of finger by the ‘umpire’ ahead of his party’s planned lockdown of the federal capital on November 02.

Private TV channels reported on Sunday Imran Khan said the umpire just stopped short of raising his finger last time, but he will definitely raise the finger this time. When he was asked about the identity of the umpire, Imran said Almighty Allah is his umpire.

Mumtaz Alvi adds: Imran said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be responsible if a ‘third-force’ stepped in as a result of his party’s lockdown of Islamabad.Imran told media persons at his Banigala residence before leaving for Dera Ismail Khan that one person would be responsible if democracy was derailed. Though, Imran did not explain the third force but is deemed an obvious reference to the military’s intervention.

He pointed out that the PTI had been waging a struggle for the last 20 years against corruption and for democracy and not for the stepping in of the third force. The PTI chairman accused the government of defaming the Pakistan Army on the pretext of PTI’s protest.

Imran added that the ruling PML-N government’s media cell propagated against the military, which was focussed on dealing with the situation on the Line of Control (LoC) and international borders.

About the reason of his party’s planned protest, Imran party’s planned protest, Imran explained that they had been knocking at the doors of all the relevant state institutions but could not get justice and at the end, were left with no other option but to take to roads for accountability of the prime minister with regards to the revelations made in PanamaLeaks.

When his attention was drawn to the Supreme Court taking up his party’s and others’ petitions against the prime minister, Imran said what they were demanding was the resignation of the prime minister, whereas the apex court would give its judgement on the award of punishment to him vis-a-vis the PanamaLeaks revelations.

The PTI chairman reiterated that they were making two demands: either the prime minister step down or present himself for accountability. He strongly dispelled the impression being created by the government that the PTI was staging protest because of the military and that non-state elements would be also part of it.

“In a democratic country, the prime minister is accountable to the people, however, Nawaz only wants to save his wealth by skipping his accountability,” he alleged. Imran emphasised that Panama Papers were not accusations but evidence of the prime minister’s corruption. Taking the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to task, Imran said those, who call themselves opposition, are defending Nawaz to save their own faces.

“Protest is our democratic right and the government will have to face severe consequences if it tried to stop us,” the PTI chairman warned.   Our DI Khan correspondent adds: Imran Khan said while addressing workers convention in Dera Ismail Khan that the government will face consequences in case of any misstep to stop the November 2 protest in Islamabad.

Imran said his party would resist the government moves to stop them from staging protest in the federal capital. "November 2 will decide the future of Pakistan. People will announce verdict against the person who has established 30 factories in 30 years," he added.

He lamented that Pakistan was among the countries where the poor were increasing with each passing day. "Billions of rupees were stolen from the exchequer but no one was punished since the creation of Pakistan," he added.

He accused the PML-N workers of attacking the Supreme Court when the judge refused to succumb to the government pressure. The PTI chief said Nawaz Sharif continues with the policy of deceit and duplicity and wanted to bribe the youth by distributing laptops among them.

"His children have no business but they own companies in Panama," he said, adding that the PML-N leadership was suffering from the crisis of conscience. He said rulers could not escape accountability in the PanamaLeaks scandal, adding the leaks were proof of the rulers' corruption. Imran said Nawaz had announced three airports in KP, but did not launch work on any of the announced projects.

The PTI chief said the prime minister’s personal accounts had burgeoned but the exchequer sank due to a huge borrowing from lending agencies. "The PML-N has won power for six terms in Punjab but the people are still poor and the accountability institutions are weak and ineffective," he alleged.

The PTI chief said that he was not ready to accept a criminal as prime minister of Pakistan. He asked the masses to raise voice against the rulers' corruption.  "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is surrounded by corrupt elements, including owner of a media house," he added and alleged that PML-N was promoting yellow journalism in Pakistan.

The PTI chief said the PML-N leaders were accusing him (Imran Khan) of creating anarchy in the country. He said that the policies of the government were actually creating anarchy and uncertainty in the country. "Their allegations could not change my mind. The prime minister will either have to offer himself for accountability or resign," he maintained.