ISLAMABAD: At his first press conference since being voted out of power, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday asked his supporters and party workers to get ready for a march on the federal capital and demanded the Supreme Court hold an open hearing on the Lettergate scandal.

“I have instructed all my party organisations at ground and mohallah level to start preparations for the ‘actual independence march’. A large sea of people will march towards Islamabad, as I have never seen so much awareness among the masses. In the past I had never seen the venues of Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi being packed so much as I recently saw. I will announce the date for the march later,” he said while speaking to media at his residence in Bani Gala.

Hurling allegations of corruption against the prime minister, his family and cabinet members, Mr Khan said they would have to be ans­wer­able to the Federal Inv­estigation Agency (FIA). He said FIA officers had been removed, because the Sha­rifs were supposed to submit their reply to the FIA reg­arding the Rs40 billion corruption. He said 70pc members of the federal cabinet was facing corruption allegations and on no-fly list. “He [the premier] will transfer the FIA officials and then record will be burnt and finally will get the clean chit,” he alleged.

While urging the Supreme Court to start open hearing on the lettergate, Mr Khan warned that if the court failed to do so, no premier would be able to take a stand against foreign ‘conspiracies and threats’ in future.

The PTI chairman argued that even former president Pervez Musharraf had received a threat and decided to follow the instructions. He suggested the court to look into it so that foreign interference could stop for good. If probed, the meetings of opposition leaders and dissident PTI legislators with the foreign diplomats would prove, he said. A media campaign was launched against his government, he said, “I am aware of a number of happenings as I was getting reports.”

He questioned why the court did not hear the case on an urgent basis when it required urgent attention.

While the National Security Committee (NSC) in its recent meeting had categorically ruled out “conspiracy against the PTI govt”, Mr Khan said the NSC statement endorsed that the letter was genuine and thus proved there was a conspiracy against him. It also proved that US official Donald Lu in a meeting with Pakistan’s then ambassador had used ‘undiplomatic’ language that had never been used previously, the PTI chairman asserted.

‘Imran will have to be removed’

“It is being said that the language was undiplomatic, but I will go a step ahead by saying that there was arrogance in language and the Joe Biden administration official told that Imran Khan will have to be removed through a no-confidence motion. It seems they were already aware of the no-trust motion and that is why the official said the US will forgive Pakistan if Imran Khan govt would be removed,” he said.

After the meeting, Mr Khan said, the allies suddenly started speaking against his government and then his party dissidents started giving statements in Sindh House.

“Fact is that we were performing well, we had minimum trade deficit, there were record remittances, industrial productions and textile exports were record high. A conspiracy was hatched against us and since then things are going downwards. Rupee has been depreciated and foreign reserves are on decline,” he claimed.

A foreign conspiracy could not succeed without connivance of local people, he said, alleging that the Sharif family and Asif Zardari were aware of the conspiracy and behind its execution.

Mr Khan further alleged that when former US official Condoleezza Rice had played a role in facilitating the NRO that former military chief and president Musharraf had given to slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s loans increased four times.

The future of new generation of Pakistan was at stake, the PTI chairman believed, asking the Supreme Court to hear the matter of ‘foreign conspiracy’ on a day-to-day basis.

While talking about the election of chief minister in Punjab Assembly, Mr Khan said PTI legislators had been thrashed there and demanded that election commissioner resign.

Replying to a question, Mr Khan people should keep pressure on the judiciary and demand day-to-day hearings of allegations against the dissident legislators and said Shabe Dua would be held for Pakistan on Ramazan 27.

PPP’s rejoinder

In his reaction to the presser, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi said the coward who had encouraged Modi did not need to be threatened by anyone. PPP leadership and workers had defeated dictators while he was just ‘a puppet’, he said, reminding him that he was ousted from power, not by the White House, but by the Bilawal House.

After Mr Khan’s mantra against corruption, the lettergate drama had already flopped, Mr Kundi said.

The PPP leader said Mr Khan’s rule had become a torment for the people whose were facing food inflation and unemployment besides the financial crunch that farmers were unable to bear any more. In this situation, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took to the streets and ousted him out of power. Since Mr Khan had ‘insulted the parliament’ and ‘harmed the democracy’, the leader of democratic politics, Asif Ali Zardari, had to send him packing in a democratic way under the constitution, he added.

Mr Kundi said that the allies of Mr Khan left him due to his “cunning nature, lies and repeated deceptions”.

He reminded Mr Khan that he had declared it on TV that he did not want to have Sheikh Rashid even as a peon.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2022