Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday said that he would register murder cases against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and interior minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan over the killings of his party workers. Pushing back heavy police contingents and barricades tens of thousands of anti-government protesters flooded the capital from all over the country on Saturday evening on the call of Imran Khan to celebrate 'One Nation Day' on the completion of the first month of sit-in.
The PTI chairman said that scores of party workers were killed in front of his eyes during a clash with police on Constitution Avenue when they tried to march towards the Prime Minister's House. He alleged the police opened fire on his workers on the orders of the prime minister and his interior minister. "I'll bring both Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shehbaz Sharif to book and their ultimate destiny will be prison as they will not be allowed to go scot-free for whatever they've done to peaceful protesters and unarmed people in Model Town," he declared.
The crowd, comprising mostly young men danced to music blasting from speakers or swapped T-shirts with Khan's face on them. Amid a thunder of firecrackers and 'go Nawaz go' slogans, Imran added, in the 'New Pakistan' - a PTI slogan of a different Pakistan more respectable in comity of nations - there will be justice for all and no rich will be allowed to suppress the poor and the downtrodden.
Imran specially warned inspectors general of police of Islamabad and Punjab - Tahir Alam and Zain Sukhera - to think twice before they contemplate any action against his workers. "Nawaz Sharif will go tomorrow but you have to stay on and after coming into power I tell you both [Zain, Tahir] that you will be behind the bars," he warned. He also flayed the then Punjab government for freeing US national Raymond Davis who killed two Pakistanis in broad daylight under US pressure, due to which the wife of one committed suicide, knowing she would not get justice. "In New Pakistan the murderers whether he is US citizen or belongs to some other country will not be spared. The green passport will have its own importance across the world," he added.
He said the sole purpose of his ongoing struggle is to awaken people from a deep slumber so that they could fight for their rights. He claimed he will crack down on rampant corruption, and generate enough funds to pay for homes, jobs, cheap energy and water.
"Once corruption is eradicated, the country can move forward. It is the only thing holding us back because here the poor is paying tax in the shape of GST while the rich is being given tax exemptions," he added. The PTI leader once again rejected the allegation that he is acting on the dictation of country's army. He said that whatever he is it is just because of his own sheer hard work. I never depended on anybody. "I have neither bowed down before anybody nor will I let my nation to bow down," he contended.
Imran said that overseas Pakistanis are remitting huge sums of foreign exchange but leaders like Nawaz Sharif are sending the hard-money of the expatriates abroad through 'hawala and hundi' to bolster their business empire. He further said that Nawaz paid zero tax for three years when he was in England, adding his family pays Rs 200 million tax in the UK while nothing in Pakistan. "Why it's so as you rule over Pakistan and invest somewhere else? Don't give votes to these blood suckers," he maintained.
Muslims ruled the world, he added, because they had made themselves accountable to people. He regretted that 14 people were killed in Model Town on the directives of Shehbaz Sharif but he is not willing to resign. "Just wait Shehbaz, the PTI is about to come into power and I will send you to the place where you should have been by now. You are not ready to accept the court orders and acting like a Mughul emperor," he warned.
After coming into power, he said his first job would be to demolish Governor's House in Lahore. A similar action will be initiated against such houses in Peshawar, Nathiagali and elsewhere - an austerity measure which, according to Imran, will help in curtailing lavish expenditure. Imran stressed that he would select his team purely on merit, which will consist of the most competent people both from the inside and outside Pakistan. Referring to a young Pakistani - Professor Atif Mian - currently working at the Princeton University in the US, who is considered as one of the top 25 world economists, will be his finance minister unlike Nawaz's 'samdi' Ishaq Dar. Imran warned that his workers will ransack police stations if his party workers are not freed by Monday - a deadline Imran had to set after police rounded up thousands PTI and PAT workers.