Imran Khan can’t hold march even in six centuries: Marriyum Aurangzeb

ISLAMABAD: Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb Friday said former prime minister Imran Khan could not return to Islamabad with his so-called long march even in the next six centuries while he was planning for it after six days.

Addressing a news conference, she said the Supreme Court of Pakistan would stand with the Constitution and the 'neutrals' had also decided to remain neutral. She asked PTI Chairman Imran Khan not to threaten institutions. 

"Everyday, he says there is still time for the Supreme Court and the neutrals to think and today he was giving the same message. But the neutrals have decided to remain neutral and the Supreme Court has also decided to stand with the Constitution," she asserted.

Referring to the 'real independence march' of the PTI, she said PTI Chairman Imran Khan had completed preparations for a bloody revolution and bloody long march. She added that Imran Khan had made shocking and disturbing revelations at the press conference. Imran himself has admitted, she claimed, that he has returned after losing and failing. “He said he was not fully prepared. His preparation was only for collecting arms, sticks, bullets and ammunition, which were recovered from the houses of his party office-bearers and ticket holders,” she added.

In fact, she said, his announcement was of a bloody revolution and there was full preparation for a bloody revolution and bloody long march. "Rs3.5m was given to members of national and provincial assemblies each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa resources. Despite this, no more than 35,000 people gathered in Islamabad, while resources and police of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government were used with the aim of getting the provincial police to confront the Punjab and federal police in the bloody march,” she added. The minister pointed out that, according to intelligence reports, people in the long march had weapons which were shown on TV screens.

Ms Aurangzeb contended Imran Khan would never return to Islamabad with a so-called long march again as people did not support him anymore due to his four-year rule of corruption, nepotism, loot and plunder. The minister termed Imran’s march a flop show and advised him to stay at home as it would be difficult for him to face the people who had rejected the politics of vandalism, arson and sabotage. She advised him to "take a relaxing pill and rest at his residence in Banigala, and let others relax, watch television while at home and learn from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif how to run the state’s affairs.”

“Stay-at-home is the only option for Imran as his politics and political narrative have been buried by the masses who have decided to support the politics of progress, development and prosperity,” the minister contended. About his demand for elections in June this year, she made it clear that the fresh election would be held on the completion of the coalition government’s constitutional term and emphasized that it was the prerogative of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its allies to announce its date.

People, she noted, had realised that Imran was a kleptomaniac, thief, incompetent and imbecile person who ruined the economy, devalued the rupee, rendered millions of youths unemployed and burdened the people with a massive debt. She said as per the former PTI regime's agreement with the IMF, Imran’s government had promised to increase the price of petroleum products every month and the mafias near Imran were the major beneficiary. “The incumbent government could have raised the price of petrol and diesel on the very first day after coming to power on the basis of the PTI government-IMF deal, but it realized that people were already suffering from the burden of inflation and even now the decision was taken with a heavy heart,” she explained.

The minister believed that when Imran had realized that he would be voted out through a no-confidence motion, he announced subsidy on petroleum products, which was opposed by his minister for finance and secretary finance and it was never presented before the federal cabinet for approval.