Gill shouldn’t have said that: Imran

ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan said on Monday that had he given call to stage sit-in in Islamabad on May 25, there would have been chaos in the country.

Imran said he was “extremely upset” with the treatment meted out at Shahbaz Gill in prison, adding the PTI lawyers told them that he was stripped off and beaten up in custody.

In an interview to a local TV channel, Imran said: “He [Gill] shouldn’t have said it because it falls under instigating the army […] it is completely right […] we want to see army as a strong institution.”

However, the PTI chief contended that statements against the establishment were also passed by coalition government leaders Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maryam Nawaz, Ayaz Sadiq, Nawaz Sharif and others in the past.

Imran said he was“extremely upset” with the treatment meted out at Gill in prison. “It is extremely painful. I didn’t even know this […] Our lawyers told us that his clothes were stripped off and he was beaten up.

“They are torturing and trying to mentally break him. And they are forcing him to give statements against Imran Khan,” the ex-premier alleged, adding that if “Imran has to say something, he will say it himself […] he doesn’t need Shahbaz Gill for that”.

He further revealed that Gill was asked about “Imran and Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed’s meetings”. Imran also claimed that everything that happened with Gill was a conspiracy to “scare PTI supporters” and “create an impression that PTI is against the army and martyrs”.

“This propaganda campaign was created in the prime minister’s cell,” he alleged. “This is all their plan to shut my supporters,” the former prime minister pointed out, continuing that the same was being done with YouTubers who spoke up in support of him.

“Their aim is to make a treason case against us and create misunderstanding between the army and PTI because we are the only party that represents all of the provinces.” Khan said a conspiracy had been hatched against him and that he had recorded a video. “If anything happens to me, it will be turned on. My life is in danger.”

He said the constitution of Pakistan gave him a right of peaceful protests, adding another long march could be a possibility. “A group of thieves -- who have no priority to control inflation -- have been imposed on us,” the PTI leader said.