- Says they used method for his assassination as was used for Salman Taseer murder
- Vows to carry forwards long march after regaining health
LAHORE: Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Friday declared that once he regains his health, he would continue his long march towards Islamabad, urging his followers and workers to continue protest against Rana Sanaullah, Shehbaz Sharif and the army major-general until they step down from their posts.
“I will take to the streets immediately after recovering and will carry on the [march towards] Islamabad,” he said while addressing his supporters from Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore where is undergoing treatment.
عمران خان نے اپنے اوپر قاتلانہ حملے کا پلان کیا تھا اور قاتلوں نے کیسے کارروائی ڈالنی ہے وہ ساری منصوبہ بندی اپنے 24 ستمبر کے جلسے میں بتا دیا۔۔۔ سنیے۔ pic.twitter.com/0OnNWHKwcm
— Shiffa Z. Yousafzai (@Shiffa_ZY) November 4, 2022
The PTI chief addressed the nation for the first time after he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt during the party’s long march in Wazirabad yesterday.
“To ensure an impartial and fair investigation it is necessary for the three top officials to step down as “all agencies are under their control”, Imran Khan pointed out and asked his supporters and workers to “fully participate” in the protest to demand the resignation of the three “suspects”.
“Never compromise on your independence. Protest is your right,” he stressed.
He also asked the army chief to make the senior military official resign who he accused of being involved in the assassination attempt.
پاکستان پر اس آدمی کی حفاظت کرنا فرض ہوگیا ہے
اللہ میرے لیڈر کو ہمیشہ اپنے حفط و امان میں رکھے( آمین) #عمران_خان_ہماری_ریڈ_لائن_ہے
— Dr. Iftikhar Durrani (@IftikharDurani) November 4, 2022
“This general is taking country towards destruction,” said Imran while alleging that the same military official was behind the torture on PTI leaders Shahbaz Gill and Azam Swati.
Imran khan maintained that it was incumbent upon the army chief to take action against the “black sheep to save country from disintegration”.
The chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claimed of prior knowing about assassination plot against him, saying “I had already learned of being attacked somewhere between Wazirabad and Gujrat.”
In the televised address from Shaukat Khanum Hospital, the PTI chief broke his silence and said that he had learning about the threat to his life beforehand.
The chairman PTI said that they used same method for his assassination as was used for murder of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer. “They tried to accuse me of blasphemy to turn the public against me,” he maintained.
He said that the country’s biggest political party was being pushed against the wall and attempts were being made to kill him.
“We have not learned anything from the past like the East Pakistan incident. I knew that they will try to kill me when I was leaving for long march,” he said.
Imran Khan said the conspirators decided to kill him as they were wary of his long march and added that he had received reports about his assignation plot from the government officials beforehand.
“Establishment was taken aback when they saw that the people this time [in April] did not support their decision to topple my government,” he said.
Imran said establishment is not aware of the ground realities. “Despite knowing that the people are not ready to accept this imported government, they [establishment] are bent on enforcing their decision.”
عندلیب عبّاس (سیکٹری اطلاعات سینٹرل پنجاب)کی زیرقیادت انٹرنیشنل میڈیا کی عمران خان سے ملاقات pic.twitter.com/5Zu5C5DEN8
— Andleeb Abbas PTI (@AndleebAbbas) November 4, 2022
The PTI chief had sustained a bullet wound to his leg after an armed attack on his container, as he led the PTI’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ in Wazirabad on Thursday.
The PTI chief said his workers and supporters were tortured and intimidated during the party’s last long march because establishment had anticipated that the party will “vanish” though such tactics.
“Four people made a decision behind closed door to kill me and I had told the nation beforehand. That’s why I had recorded a video naming all four [conspirators].”
Earlier, at the beginning of his address, Khan started berating the incumbent government and lamented how his government was ousted through a motion of no-confidence.
“We will protest till these 3 people aren’t removed, and I’ll InshAllah once again give the call for Islamabad”-@ImranKhanPTI #عمران_خان_ہماری_ریڈ_لاین_ہے #SackGeneralFaisal pic.twitter.com/NHn9j2Nzao
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 4, 2022
“The government could have never lost the no-trust move, but they [the coalition leaders] used money to become successful,” he said, adding that the PTI-led government also had the financial means to engage in horse trading but it refrained from doing so.
He said that when the PTI was in power, the then-opposition took out three long marches against the government but “we didn’t stop anyone.”
Khan accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and said that the body was involved with the incumbent government to sideline the PTI.
The former premier added that the ECP became a tool of the coalition government to disqualify him in the Toshakhana reference.
“In the July 17 by-election, the ECP resorted to all sorts of rigging tactics,” he alleged. “They employed all maneuvers to discredit me, resorted to mudslinging, and filed cases against me.” He added that accusations levelled against him in the Toshakhana case are baseless as all the records are available in the Toshakhana.
“Despite knowing nothing could be stolen from the Toshakhana, the ECP disqualified me in that case because they wanted to create a level-playing field for Nawaz Sharif.
Khan added that he cannot be compared to the [Sharif family] which has billions of assets abroad and live in the most expensive apartments in London.
He stated that the party would approach the court against the ECP’s decision to disqualify him, claiming that Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja was a “servant of the Sharif family”.
Dr Faisal Sultan briefed about Imran Khan sab’s injuries pic.twitter.com/SYZZ3XUnGL
— Azhar Mashwani (@MashwaniAzhar) November 4, 2022
HEALTH CONDITION SATISFACTORY
Earlier, Imran Khan asked Dr Faisal Sultan to brief the masses about his health condition while revealing that he was hit by four bullets.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman was examined by a medical board, after which all the medical reports of the former prime minister were declared satisfactory. Medical board has allowed Imran Khan to walk and use toilets. The PTI chairman insists on discharge today, but the doctors have advised him of one day rest.
Hospital administration has said that Imran Khan does not need further tests, he has not been stopped from eating and drinking anything. According to sources in the medical board, Imran Khan’s right leg was operated for two hours, chairman PTI suffered four injuries on the leg, there was no bone damage.
The medical board says that all kinds of particles were removed during the operation, it was necessary to examine from every angle during the operation, the operation was small but time was needed for complete examination.
