ISLAMABAD:The top leadership of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Sunday advised Prime Minister Imran Khan to go for snap elections after successfully dealing with the No Confidence Motion.
Addressing the PTI Jalsa in the federal capital, PTI Vice Chairman and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the nation has “woken up” and corrupt political leaders were bound to face defeat.
“Whenever this nation wakes up it changes the fate of sub-continent… will plunders face the defeat or not?” he asked the charged crowd.
Qureshi on the occasion revealed that he was aware of the “conspiracy” behind the no-confidence motion. “There are a lot of secrets concealed in my chest and If I disclose them they [opposition] will not able to show their faces but I will not violate my oath.”
However, he added that he has informed the premier about the “conspiracy”.
Qureshi also claimed that opposition parties have offered to take back no-trust motion in return for a “NRO-like deal”.
“Give us NRO and we will take back no-motion confidence… Zardari, Nawaz and Fazl you will not get any NRO. Bring all your wealth Asif Zardari but you cannot buy anyone from this crowd.”
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid in his brief address labelled the opposition leaders as “gang of three”.
“These plunderers did not even spare the money of Arab leaders Colonel Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein,” he said, adding that people wanted to get rid of such “corrupt politicians”.
Addressing the gathering, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that the prime minister was “waging a war” against opposition leaders who were indulging in politics in Pakistan through their “ill-gotten money”.
“This no-confidence motion is a petty thing. I want to tell the prime minister that he is the leader of the entire Muslim world and he will win this battle.”
He said that he has advised the premier to call [fresh] elections to let the opposition know with whom people stand.
He said that the joint opposition cannot defeat PM Imran and asked the premier to announce the date of elections to tell his opponents that “people were standing with” the ruling PTI.
He also took a jibe at opposition leaders Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman. “[US president] Joe Biden is your [Fazl] leader and he is not a global leader,” he said, adding that Shehbaz was looking for “shining imported shoes”.
Umar said all opposition leaders have joined hands to protect themselves from accountability drive.
PTI leaders Pervaiz Khattak, Ali Zaidi, Shafqat Mahmood, Murad Saeed, Qasim Khan Suri, and Faisal Javed also addressed the gathering.
The PTI leaders vowed that PM Imran will not go anywhere and the opposition’s efforts against the premier will prove futile. Mahmood said this political gathering has proved that the “nation stood with PM Imran against corruption and horse-trading”.
Mahmood said the real democracy belonged to the people and asked, “Whether conspiracies and horse-trading a form of democracy?” He said it was the habit of the opposition to use the money to get power and then fill their pockets through corruption.
Suri told participants that Imran Khan “has made all Muslims proud and fought against Islamaphobia”. “He doesn’t bow before anyone, neither does he let us bow,” the PTI lawmaker added.
Zaidi said that under the leadership of Imran Khan and with the support of the PTI workers, the government will defeat the “Zardari mafia”.
‘Battle for Pakistan’
In a message ahead of the public meeting, PM Imran shared an audio clip wherein he termed the March 27 gathering a day of the “battle for Pakistan”. Imran said, “We have not taken to streets to save PTI, we are out to fight the battle for Pakistan.”
The premier urged people to leave for the venue at their earliest to avoid traffic gridlock on their way to the Parade Ground. He added that the PTI came out today to make history.
Over 6,000 Rangers for security
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed held a presser wherein he revealed the timing of the prime minister’s address at the gathering. He said that the premier had made it clear that he wanted to make his address soon.
About security measures, Rashid said he was present at the control centre of the interior ministry. He added, “At least 6,000 Rangers, Frontier Corps, and other security personnel are deployed for security purposes.”
He, however, forewarned the Jamiat Ulema-e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) that they would be responsible for any collisions on the Srinagar Highway which they were blocking. The minister stated that JUI-F was served a second show-cause notice today over illegal sit-in at the Srinagar Highway despite court orders.
“If the place is not vacated, an FIR will be filed against JUI-F,” he said.
Rashid said that the opposition ran away from Pakistan under the guise of health issues and illness. He also condemned what the opposition had said about the Pakistan Army.
The interior minister stated that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would hold its rally on March 28, and was given permission to do so. He claimed that PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif had attempted to run away from the country, but the interior ministry had stopped him.
“If you create any fuss, the administration will take action”, Rashid warned.
PTI workers arriving in Islamabad
The PTI caravans that reached the gathering included buses, wagons, and cars adorned with posters of Prime Minister Imran Khan highlighting the theme of the gathering, ‘Amarbil Maroof’.
Earlier, thousands of vehicles entered Islamabad via Srinagar Highway to attend the “million-strong” rally. The PTI supporters coming via Hazara, Lahore, and Peshawar motorways were making victory signs and chanting pro-Imran slogans as they got off the motorways. They were led by ministers, ruling party lawmakers, and local PTI leaders.
