Imran warns of bringing people on roads if NRO struck on Hudaibiya Mills

SEHWAN SHARIF: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Monday said that he would take the nation out on the roads if any new NRO was struck with the Sharif family on the Hudaibiya Paper Mills.

Imran said the people will not accept an NRO this time. "We will take out the entire country on the streets," he warned, adding that they wanted the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case started forthwith.

Talking to the media in Sehwan Sharif on Monday, he said: "Former president Musharraf had no right to strike an NRO with Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari but presently the entire nation is with us against the corrupt mafia. If any NRO is struck this time, then I will bring the entire Pakistan on roads."

Responding to a question, he said that demanding the arrest of Nawaz Sharif by Asif Zardari was a sign of the doomsday. Zardari has fleeced more money than Nawaz but in fact it is a Noora Kushti, he added. "When Zardari was the president, then the Sharif brothers were playing this game against him. Shahbaz Sharif then used to say that money would be taken out from the stomach of Zardari. Likewise, the PPP remained silent for four years and now the PPP had started Noora Kushti when the election 2018 was getting close." He said it was a sad state of affairs that the elected prime minister (Shahid Khaqan Abbasi) considered Nawaz to be the real prime minister. On the other hand, the state is responsible for protection of life and property of the people but here the prime minister was defending the case of a corrupt former prime minister.

The PTI arranged a rally in Sehwan on Sunday in an apparent move to garner support for the upcoming general elections in 2018. It is important to mention the convention was held on the same day when PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressed a political gathering in Peshawar. Answering a question about the party's call for early elections, he said this was not a personal demand of the PTI but the need of the hour.

The PTI chief regretted being denied entry to the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's shrine in Sehwan yesterday. He said the administration made scores of lame excuses, saying we had armed guards with us but the footage shows that it was not true.

Talking about the PPP which rules Sindh, Imran said Godwilling the PPP will be defeated in Sindh for the first time in the next general elections.

Imran said heads of institutions such as the Election Commission of Pakistan, Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Federal Board of Revenue were appointed by the ruling party. There is a difference between them and the Supreme Court, which is an independent institution, he added.

The PTI chief claimed further that criticising the ECP was his democratic right. He also criticised the issuance of his warrants by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) over a peaceful protest.  In response to a question, he said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will be saved only if it completely disassociates from the party's London-based founder.

He said Asif Zardari and Faryal Talpur used the police for every wrongdoing. The Sindh province has been fully made a police state. People in the province cannot enjoy any freedom and they have been enslaved. The police are used as militant wing for victimization of the people of Sindh. If Zardari's fear vanishes, then Sindh will make progress. If the police in Sindh are made impartial like the KP Police, then the PPP will not be able to win even a single seat here, he added.

He remarked that the people of Sindh were becoming poorer and poorer day by day but Asif Zardari was transferring money to Dubai through launches. --Agencies

Our correspondent adds from Karachi: Imran Khan continued his criticism of two other rival political elites as he arrived in Karachi on Monday and said that former president and PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari will soon chant about “why he was ousted” like Nawaz Sharif.

Khan's arrival in the city is ahead of his scheduled address to a student convention at the Karachi University on October 25 for which his party, primarily the Insaf Students Federation, has already started preparations and is campaigning to attract and mobilize the youth to converge at the event.

Speaking to a party flag hoisting at Metroville, he said that the game for Sharif and Zardari was over. “The way Nawaz Sharif is begging for his political future today, Zardari will also chant why he was ousted,” he said, in reference of a speech of the PML-N leader after he was removed from the premiership following his disqualification by the Supreme Court.

He commented that the people of Sindh had decided to get rid of “corruption king” Zardari and his group as his PPP had paralyzed nearly all the institutions in the province. “The nation wants accountability. They don’t want any other thing. Nor will they be lured by Zardari’s or Bilawal’s hollow slogans,” he said, claiming that his party could lead them out of crisis.

“PTI has proved in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in four years that only honest and committed leadership could lead towards progress,” he said, sharing some claims about betterment in governance and administration in the province done by his party that rules over there.

Meanwhile, at a luncheon organized by business community at the SITE Association office, he said that Karachi was the hub of economic activity in the country, however, incompetent governments and rampant corruption brought it at the verge of collapse. “We are well aware of the business community situation and will take measures to improve it, when in power.” He said that bringing the economy on the right path was among the top-most priorities of his party.

Later in the day, the PTI chairperson attended his party’s women convention at the Arts Council, met with labour leaders at Karachi Port Trust and presided over a programme organized by the Insaf Professional Forum at a local hotel.

At the KPT Union Office, Khan said that the wrong policies and corruption deteriorated the Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Steel Mills that were profitable institutions once. “The government wants to sell these institutions to their blue-eyed persons in return for a kickback while leaving labourers to suffer.”