ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday urged the youth to stage peaceful protests against the ‘foreign conspiracy’ allegedly hatched with the help of the opposition to remove his government and vowed to defeat the vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly today (Sunday).
The prime minister, during a live question-answer session with the public on Saturday, a day ahead of the no-confidence motion, stated that he would like to begin by urging the youth to stage protests across the country against the conspiracy as this is a decisive moment for the country.
He said that the nation has to choose in what direction the country would move ahead from here whether it would tread on the path of destruction or a difficult path that eventually would bring self-esteem to the country. He said that those nations face destruction which fails to make a distinction between good and bad. He said that people need to come out to stage protests for the future of their children because when a society becomes neutral, it begins to support evil.
He said how a nuclear-armed country’s politicians are being ‘bought’ to remove his government and that history would never forgive these politicians who would compromise the nation’s interests over personal interests.
The prime minister said that the threat letter was seen by the federal cabinet and the national security committee meeting that this is an official document and the conspiracy to remove his government was started from abroad.
Will call early elections if I win no-confidence motion: PM Imran
The prime minister also came down hard on the opposition leader's statement to the media that “beggars cannot be choosers” and questioned who was responsible for putting the country on the life-supporting machine, while referring to Khawaja Asif of Pakistan Muslim League (N) statement. The PM also criticized the dynastic politics of the PPP and the PML-N.
The prime minister in response to a question about lodging treason cases against the politicians involved in the conspiracy said that he has been holding meetings with his legal team and by night (Saturday) would decide as to what kind of action should be taken against them. He said that he would not let them go because they have betrayed the country.
The prime minister further stated that the country would have been divided into three parts had the army not been in the country and he believes in making the army stronger. He further stated that Pakistan Army and the PTI (being the only national party) are making the country united, whereas, other parties are no longer national parties.
The prime minister also ruled out any difference with the armed forces and stated he respected their opinion to remain away from politics due to criticism.
He said that a strong army is needed for the country and a conspiracy against them is a conspiracy against Pakistan. He said that the army should not be criticized because it rendered great sacrifices to protect the country. I want everyone not to criticize their army in any way, he added, while citing the example of other countries where the army was not strong.
The prime minister said that he is a fighter and would fight till the last ball and face the vote of a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly today (Sunday) and expressed his confidence that the opposition would face defeat. He said that he had more than one plan against the vote of the no-confidence move.
He said that when late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto tried to make the country’s foreign policy independent, he faced ‘judicial murder’ because of these parties- Fazlur Rehman’s and Nawaz Sharif’s.
On the economy, the prime minister said that he would like a team of economic experts to decide about his government’s economic performance in comparison with the previous two governments as inflation was higher during the PPP-led government after 2008 compared to the present three years of the present government.
He said that although inflation was lower during the PML-N government because oil prices were lowest and there was hardly any growth in exports. He said that tax collection and exports were recorded high during the present government and Rs250billion additional tax collection has been used to provide relief to the people. The prime minister said that he had great respect for the overseas Pakistanis for sending home record remittances.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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