ISLAMABAD: Taking on Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in response to its call for the resignation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said the “real issue” of the opposition alliance with the military was the former’s failure to control the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), like it manipulated other state institutions after the agency “found out” about their alleged corruption.
Addressing a ceremony organised by the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF) in Islamabad, he said that the deposed prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif “fought with every army chief” because he wanted to turn the military into Punjab police.
The premier said if he too “started laundering money” out of the country, the ISI would find out about it before anyone else “because it is the world’s top agency”.
“They (opposition parties) control all the institutions whose job it is to keep checks and balances, except one. They know the ISI is aware of all their theft. They try to control it and that’s where the conflict starts,” he added.
PM Imran also ridiculed Nawaz’s claim that the former ISI chief Zaheerul Islam had asked him to step down from his post. The premier added that if the Pakistani Army was weakened, the country would see similar turbulence as in other Muslim countries such as Libya, Syria and Yemen.
Furthermore, the prime minister said that the opposition is “going around with India’s agenda”. He also sent a warning to the PDM. “The moment you break the law, you will go straight to jail — and not to a VIP jail, but where the poor are sent,” he said.
The premier said that all the “employed” opposition politicians had united on one platform because “they consider themselves above the law” and “unanswerable”.
PM Imran said that the PDM was the latest attempt by the opposition to obtain an NRO-like agreement. He drew parallels between the PDM and the opposition’s attempts to “blackmail” the government over the passage of legislation concerning the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
“The day they get an NRO would be the downfall of Pakistan,” he added.
Referring to the opposition’s allegation of the vote having been stolen in the 2018 elections, the premier said he had gotten “the most votes in Pakistan and won from five constituencies.”
“I am democracy,” he declared.
