ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan Monday said that the incumbent government and others he had accused had planned the attack on him and wanted to show that a “religious fanatic did it”.
Khan alleged that two months ago, a video was “produced by an agency” accusing him of blasphemy and hurting religious sentiments.
“It was a planned assassination attempt and we knew about it three months ago. I went on air beforehand and warned that this is what would happen,” he said.
“And this is why I have called for an independent investigation […] I have named three people and they are responsible for it. If an independent investigation is to be done, then it should be done with them on top,” Imran demanded.
Imran Khan claimed that the plot to assassinate him was conceived two months ago.
Imran Khan argued why he couldn’t take the names of people who he believed were behind his assassination attempt.
“How come I as a person who was about to be assassinated can’t name the people who planned this attempt on me,” he demanded.
“I went to the public and announced it on September 24. How do I know this? It started when I was deposed, and from then onwards it was expected that my party would fall apart […] but what happened instead was that there was a big public backlash and my party gained immense support.”
The former premier said that efforts had been underway to “throw me out of the race” or “disqualify me”.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan said Monday that the party’s long march would achieve its target “no matter what the circumstances” as the former prime minister pressurizes the government in his quest for snap polls.
Khan is currently recovering in Lahore from the bullet injuries that he sustained in the Wazirabad attempted assassination attack. He was discharged from the Shaukat Khanum Hospital a day earlier.
The ex-prime minister, during a meeting with representatives of media bodies, said that the party would back down only after getting the date for general elections. Khan said that no compromise can be made with coalition rulers, including PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
He said the march would be led by PTI Secretary-General Asad Umar and the party’s vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The long march had come to a halt last week after the attack on Khan.
The PTI chief — who has been critical of the armed forces since his ouster in April — said that the personnel of the army standing guard on the borders were like his “children”.
Khan said that going against the institution was not an option for the party. The former prime minister has blamed three people, including a senior military official, for the Wazirabad attack and also called for his dismissal. However, the army has rejected the allegation and termed it “baseless”.
