ISLAMABAD: Hours after senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders claimed that the pilots flying the chopper of PTI Chairman Imran Khan had been receiving threatening calls from unknown numbers, party leader Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday demanded these kinds of threatening calls from unknown numbers – whosoever is involved in it – must stop.
Speaking at a presser, he said that threatening calls were being made to party chairman Imran Khan’s pilots from unknown numbers which must stop.
He also played a clip of the alleged call, holding his mobile phone close to the microphones on the table where he was sitting and termed the development as unfortunate and absurd.
In the clip he played, a man can be heard asking the receiver of the call to delete what is presumably a social media post.
“You will be picked up by 5pm tomorrow,” the unknown caller can be heard threatening the pilot of the former prime minister.
Fawad reiterated that this was unfortunate, and demanded that the authorities concerned must investigate the issue.
“There are only two big security agencies,” he added.
He said that recently, Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa and the DG ISI had issued orders for their institutions to stay away from such matters.
“I’m optimistic these directives will be implemented...if people from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) are doing this, I would urge its head to look at his institution.”
He alleged that calls from unknown numbers are made by two institutions, adding these calls from unknown numbers must stop.
“Fear doesn’t last long…Pakistan is not Burma”, he added.
He noted that martial law had been imposed in the country four times but had also subsequently ended.
“If you think you can rule the country on the basis of power, you are mistaken. There will be retaliation and the people will stand up,” he declared.
Chaudhry said that the current peace should be allowed to prevail. He added that holding early elections was the only way forward to rid the country of political instability.
Earlier in the day, Asad Umar claimed that the pilots flying Imran Khan to his rallies was receiving phone calls and being given threats.
“How low will they sink,” he questioned, without specifying who he was referring to.
In another tweet, he shared a poem by Martin Niemöller — a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany who was outspoken against Adolf Hitler: “First they came for socialists. I did not speak. I was not a socialist. Then they came for trade unionists. I did not speak. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for Jews. I did not speak. I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me”.
Shahbaz Gill of the PTI also made similar claims, saying: “The pilot of the plane used during Imran’s rallies is receiving threatening calls from unknown numbers. It seems that, in your eyes, there is no limit to the use of force”.
“You want to cross limits by using intimidation tactics but the nation is no longer afraid,” he said, adding “everything that was unknown is now known”.
“If Imran’s plane is damaged on the ground or in the air, the nation should remember who is doing all this,” he warned.
First private companies were threatened over offering their planes, he said, adding attempts were made to cancel our plans after planes were deliberately made to appear as though they were not fit to fly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022