FAISALABAD: Former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday questioned the new PML-N-led coalition government if it could handle the economy, pointing out that the rupee was continuing its slide against the dollar, the stock market was under pressure and inflation was soaring.
Addressing a public gathering in Faisalabad as part of a series of of rallies he has announced in the run up to his party’s planned long march on Islamabad, Imran reiterated that his government was ousted through a conspiracy prepared inside the United States.
He said the conspiracy was abetted by local “Mir Jafars and Mir Sadiqs” – a historical reference he has used consistently over the past month as a pejorative for those he claims were part of the alleged conspiracy against him.
Imran Khan reiterated that a conspiracy was being hatched to kill him, saying that his rivals were left with only option of assignation to get rid of him.
“I got to know few days ago that a conspiracy was being hatched… conspirators thought what to do with Imran that we employed every tactics but he overcame all challenges including coronavirus and economic crisis,” he said.
Today’s rally is part of his party’s so called ‘real freedom’ movement against coalition government led by PML-N.
The PTI chairman said those who removed him from power expected that people would celebrate his ouster. “But instead of distributing sweets people took to street to protest against [my removal,” he added.
Amid fears that a “sea of people” would march on Islamabad, ‘conspirators’ concluded that only way to do away with me is to take my life, he added.
Imran said he has recorded a video of all those elements involved in the alleged US-backed conspiracy against him “so that if anything happens to me people should know about them [conspirators]”.
The former PM said he has recorded a video and named all elements involved in the foreign conspiracy. “If people see this video then they should make sure that all those I have named should be brought before the court.
The former premier has time and again claimed that a “foreign conspiracy” was hatched to topple his government over his refusal to have Pakistan’s foreign policy be influenced by abroad. Since his ouster, he has held public rallies in major cities of the country.
He termed the newly formed set up an “imported government” and lashed out at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying the “decisive moment” had come for the people to decide if they wanted “slavery or liberty”.
On Saturday, he dropped a bombshell claiming an “assassination attempt” was being hatched against him – video evidence of which was kept in a “secure place”.
The former prime minister, who is poised to take the great leap to the federal capital, made the startling claims while addressing a charged public gathering in Sialkot.
In what was a prelude to his ‘Azadi March’ as the country braces for another acrimonious chapter in the political landscape, Imran told his supporters a plot was being orchestrated against his life, saying: “I have named all those elements involved in the conspiracy in the video. I knew about it and I got full knowledge of it a few days ago.”
On April 10, Imran Khan, the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan, became the first chief executive to be removed from office after losing majority in the National Assembly.
Imran’s party, which governed the country for over three-and-a-half years, had been struggling to stay in power as its allies betrayed to join hands with the opposition parties that had joined forces against the government.
While Pakistan’s history has been marred with political instability, no prime minister has ever been removed from office through a no-trust motion.
Ever since his ouster, Imran maintains the stance that the no-trust move was a result of a conspiracy hatched abroad by those who didn’t want Pakistan to pursue an ‘independent foreign policy’.
