ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Friday said that the country has been taken over by “thieves” and whatever is going on in rural Sindh is the “worst form of slavery,” for which the nation will have to wage jihad to save future generations.

Speaking at a convention for female students, he said that about 80 percent of women are stripped of their rights in rural Sindh, urging the nation to fight for the future generation and the Haqiqi Azadi or real freedom. Taking a dig at his political rivals, he said that the caliphs in older times used to present themselves before the courts but people like Nawaz Sharif and Zardari did money laundering instead. “How can a country progress if people like Sharifs and Zardaris will be at the helm of affairs who have plundered the national wealth,” he added.

He said that the “thieves” who have come into power through a foreign-backed conspiracy are busy getting their graft cases forgiven through NRO-II, which is an assault on the justice system of the country. He termed the changes to the NAB law “NRO-II,” saying “we are heading towards destruction by removing white-collar criminals from accountability”.

“Pakistan is going through a decisive phase as Shehbaz Sharif always visits different countries to humiliate Pakistan,” he added. Khan has announced resuming his Haqiqi Azadi Movement from Saturday (September 24) and appealed to the public to take to the streets as soon as he calls on them.

He urged party workers and supporters to get ready for his call as establishing the “rule of law” was the country’s foremost need.

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Khan further said that the poor should be released from jails if the powerful cannot be brought under the law, adding “what is the fault of the poor”.

Separately, he also chaired a meeting of the PTI’s senators in Islamabad, in which, he expressed concerns over the NAB amendments.

Following the amendments to the NAB law, the accountability courts, where once the most powerful people stood trial, have started returning corruption references to the NAB chairman as the accused could no longer be tried because the courts lack pecuniary jurisdiction in the cases.

Khan, while addressing the participants of the meeting, said the incumbent rulers have made a mockery of the accountability system by giving themselves “NRO-II” in corruption cases worth Rs1,100 billion.

He reiterated that the “thriving economy” was thrown into a tailspin by toppling his government through a vote of no-confidence.

He said uncertainty is a “deadly poison” for the economy, which he said can only be neutralized with the announcement of early elections.

“Millions of Pakistanis in the country are reeling under disasters like floods, whereas, the “crime minister” [Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif] and the ministers are wasting the nation’s money on luxury trips,” he regretted.

He directed the party leaders to get ready for his protest call against the incumbent regime for willfully delaying the elections.

“Our struggle for real freedom has entered a decisive phase and I will soon give a call for protest,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022