ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday said that his party would announce the date for the second phase of Haqeeqi Azadi March in a few days after getting clearance from the Supreme Court.

“It will be the biggest protest in Pakistan’s history. I want my nation to get ready as once we get clearance from the Supreme Court, I will announce the date,” he said while addressing party workers and leaders at the PTI’s National Council meeting after he was re-elected as PTI chairman unopposed after other candidates withdrew their candidature in his favour. PTI leaders, Omar Sarfaraz Cheema and Naik Muhammad were the other two contenders who were running for the chairman.

Besides, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar have also been re-elected as the vice-chairman and the secretary-general of the party, respectively.

The PTI chairman said that the Shehbaz Sharif-led “imported government” has destroyed everything in the country, saying the reason is these are the people who have no guts to do anything without getting prior approval from “their US masters”.

He said that the “imported lot” which has been “imposed” on the people of Pakistan through a foreign conspiracy will not take a stand for the nation as they have stashed billions of dollars in foreign banks, which they will protect at any cost.

“They are afraid that if America is disgruntled with them, they will suffer the same fate as the Russian oligarchs,” the PTI chairman said, saying that from 2008 to 2018, the US carried out 400 drone attacks on Pakistan, a number which had been unprecedented.

Khan said the leaders of that era — ex-president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif — did not utter a single word in protest when the drone attacks were taking place in Pakistan despite, Islamabad being an ally of Washington.

He said that India, Israel, and some Western countries were the happiest after he was removed from power, adding they are happy that Shehbaz is now prime minister because now their agenda will be followed, not what is in the interest of Pakistan.

Khan further said that the agenda of Pakistan’s enemies is to disintegrate Pakistan into many pieces, adding that Indian analysts on their media openly say this and those who brought them here want them to serve accordingly.

Khan lambasted the government for launching a crackdown on the PTI workers and said that he had never imagined that such actions would be taken in Pakistan against the workers of a political party.

He added that when the PTI was in power, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari marched to Islamabad, but the then government did not stop them.

He reiterated that the corrupt rulers were imposed on Pakistanis through a conspiracy and to back his claim, he said that since the ouster of his government, people have taken to the streets — a move that has been unprecedented in the country’s history.

In the same breath, he said that no one has the confidence in the current leadership of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), while the government was also trying to appoint a person of their choice as the new chief of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Explaining his reason for not having confidence in the ECP, Khan said that preparations were underway to ensure that present rulers win the next general elections, adding they are gerrymandering the constituencies.

Khan said the country’s economic situation was witnessing turmoil because of the politicians who ruled the country for the last 30 years.

“The economy is deteriorating at a fast rate [...] therefore, accused cannot be judges. Who is benefitting from the situation that has prevailed in the country? The enemy wants to weaken the Pakistan Army,” he maintained.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022