Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Sunday vowed to foil any conspiracy aimed at doing away with the Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. Addressing a mammoth rally in Liaquat Bagh in connection with the Independence Day celebrations of Pakistan, Khan also warned that he would bring millions of people to Islamabad if any conspiracy was hatched to abolish Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
"A conspiracy is being hatched to abolish Article 62 and 63. I ask him [Nawaz Sharif]...what do you mean by abolishing Article 62 and 63: for the reason that you can plunder the tax payers' money and stash it abroad? But, we shall not countenance it to happen," he pledged.
Responding to Nawaz Sharif's question on his home-going rally via GT Road as to why he was ousted, the PTI chairman said that "it is not a conspiracy but it is new Pakistan in the making where you cannot buy the judges and the institutions." "For three years, Nawaz Sharif has been controlling all the institutions and it was for the first time, that he wasn't able to control the JIT or the Supreme Court. That's why he [Nawaz] is calling it [disqualification] a conspiracy", he said.
He accused Sharif of hatching a conspiracy on the GT Road against the state institutions including the judiciary and military. "He [Sharif] must be ashamed of himself [for speaking against the military], as the army chief himself stated this thrice that the military is standing with the democracy, state institutions and the Constitution of the country. Then who is conspiring against you," he questioned.
Khan warned that he would bring ten times more people than those brought by Nawaz Sharif on GT Road from Islamabad to Lahore in defence of the of judiciary, military and other state institutions. He said that this is the era of social media. He said women and the youth are more vigilant than before. He said nation would stand by the Supreme Court, if needed.
He also criticised the media houses supporting Nawaz Sharif, saying only two types of people were supporting him - those whose interests are associated with him and those who were misled by him. "A media house is supporting a national criminal just because its economic interest is attached to it," he said, accusing another media house of also supporting him because it would be getting its share in the LNG terminal.
PTI chairman said that Nawaz Sharif was sent home after the due judicial process, yet he says that the mandate of the people is at stake. "People have given you a mandate for what you have pledged to make Pakistan Asian Tiger and not for plundering the taxpayers money", he said. Calling the GT Road rally a "drama", Khan said that it was staged to exert pressure on the Supreme Court and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). "The NAB is yet to file a reference against Nawaz Sharif and his family. Is it due to the pressure he is exerting on it," he asked.
He also proposed a four-point agenda to establish a "new Pakistan," saying that the first point was to wage a jihad against poverty, second point was to ensure merit, third point was fearless accountability process through formation of an independent accountability body, and fourthly, Green Pakistan, through environment-friendly measures such as plantation of trees, cleansing of seas and rivers as well as fight against the air pollution.
Earlier, Khan praised Sheikh Rashid for "waging a jihad" against corruption and political mafia for the last nine years. PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in his speech focused on responding to the ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's question "Why I was ousted?" He responded that Nawaz was ousted for looting the national exchequer and lying with the Parliament and the nation.
Responding to Sharif's allegation that mandate of the voters were snatched by disqualifying him by the apex court, Qureshi asked "Where was the mandate when Benazir Bhutto was ousted and where was the mandate when Zia took over and you supported the military dictator instead of the then prime minister. He said Nawaz was disqualified because he fooled and misled the nation, and plundered the national exchequer.
He further said that Nawaz Sharif talked respect of the mandate but he must know that mandate is got through free, fair and transparent elections. "He [Nawaz] also spoke about an 'Imrani' agreement. You bring Imran Khan, we are ready to give an 'Imrani' agreement", he said.
Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid in his address lashed out at Sharifs calling them "corrupt" and "plunderers". He also claimed that the ruling PML-N had hatched a plot allegedly to kill him and PTI chairman Imran Khan on the day of Prime Minister's elections in the National Assembly. Strict security arrangements were in place around the Liaquat Bagh in order to avert any untoward incident, as thousands of people participated in the rally and also witnessed the firework show at 12:00 am.
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