KARACHI: In what appeared to be a direct threat to the opposition that submitted a no-confidence resolution against him in the National Assembly a day earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday thundered that he had been waiting for this day, claiming confidently that the “definite failure” of the move and regaining of parliament’s confidence will help him “grab the thieves by their necks” and go after them once this “battle of nerves” is over.

Earlier in the day, Mr Khan paid his first-ever visit to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) headquarters in Bahadurabad since assuming office, where the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) ally assured him of its full support.

In a blunt and aggressive address to PTI workers at Governor House here, the PM appeared confident about his chances of success in the wake of the no-confidence resolution, yet sounded vindictive and bitter at the leaders of the three major opposition parties — Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The PM used most of his over 20-minute speech to hit out at opposition leaders and warned them what fate they would suffer after the no-confidence resolution failed. Each of his jibes received thunderous applause from the audience. Sitting in the first three rows, the Sindh governor, federal ministers and legislators were among those caught by the cameras cheering for their leader alongside the crowd.

On daylong visit to Karachi, PM addresses PTI workers, meets allied parties MQM-P, GDA

The first opposition leader to earn the ire of Mr Khan was former president Zardari, whom he called his “first target” once the no-confidence saga was over.

“My prayers have been answered that they [opposition parties] have submitted a no-trust resolution, which I often sought so I can grab them by their necks,” he remarked to a loud cheer from the crowd.

“It will not only fail, but this time, the kaptaan (referring to himself) has prepared a detailed plan for the future. And my first target will be Asif Ali Zardari who has been at the top of my hit-list for a long time. He kills people, uses the police and gangsters. Zardari, your time is over!”

Mr Khan also alleged that the PPP leader has been offering PTI MNAs Rs200 million each to side with the opposition. “I have asked our MNAs to take the money he offers and donate it to charity.”

Next to be targeted was Mr Shehbaz. “On the other hand, there is a Maqsood chaprasi wala,” the PM said, referring to the National Assembly opposition leader through a worker in his sugar mills whose benami account was allegedly used for money laundering by the Sharif family.

“He is a showbaaz (showman), but, in fact, also a boot polisher (a reference to the PML-N president’s policy of appeasement towards the establishment). When the court summons him he complains of back pain to avoid making an appearance. Then he makes an excuse that he is suffering from coronavirus. But your time is over! You will be in jail after three months. And the money your son and son-in-law have stashed overseas will be brought back to provide relief to the people of Pakistan.”

The PM mostly kept mocking the JUI-F’s Maulana, referring to him as “diesel” and “Fazloo”. He conveyed a clear message to the opposition leader about the graft cases against him and warned him against undermining the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“Mr Diesel, get ready!” boasted PM Khan. “He [the Maulana] has assets worth billions of rupees and no one knows their source because he doesn’t do anything. When the NAB summoned him, he threatened he would bring his 2,000 workers on the roads; he threatened the organisation. But let me tell you Fazloo, once this no-confidence fails and NAB summons you, I will bring a hundred thousand workers for your 2,000!”

MQM-P, GDA meetings

Earlier, shortly after landing at the old terminal of Quaid-i-Azam International Airport in the afternoon, PM Khan visited the MQM-P headquarters in Bahadurabad for the first time since becoming the premier. He met the senior party leadership and spent almost an hour there before leaving for Governor House.

A brief statement from the PM House issued after the visit said all was well and the MQM resolved to support Mr Khan.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday held a meeting with the senior leadership of MQM-P in Karachi, focusing on the evolving political situation,” it said. “During the meeting, the MQM leadership assured full support to the prime minister. The meeting focused on the overall political situation in the country.”

However, the MQM leaders’ interaction with the media raised many questions about the agenda of the meeting and the outcome.

“Not a word about the no-confidence resolution was discussed by either side [in the meeting],” replied MQM’s Amir Khan to a question. “He didn’t seek any support [for the resolution] neither did we offer any. We will take a decision in line with the interests of our people, party, city and ideology. He’s an elected prime minister and we discussed different issues with him with all due respect. We didn’t make any complaints in the meeting; our demands were already shared when we joined the coalition.”

The immediate impact of the meeting, however, was witnessed in Hyderabad where the MQM-P office was reopened after more than five years. The office at Bhai Khan Ki Chari was sealed in August 2016.

MQM sources, meanwhile, said the party convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui was likely to meet former president Zardari in Islamabad on Thursday (today), suggesting the party had not made up its mind yet about which side to be on over the no-confidence resolution.

Later, the PM also met leaders of another allied party, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), and not much was shared with the media about the brief meeting.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday met with the leadership of GDA and discussed the overall political situation in the country. The meeting took place during the prime minister’s day-long visit there. The GDA leaders who met the prime minister included Arif Mustafa Jatoi, Husnain Ali Mirza, Moazzam Ali Khan, Muhammad Rafiq, Muhammad Shahryar Khan Mahr, Nand Kumar Goklani, Nasim Akhtar Rajpar and Nusrat Sahr Abbasi,” stated a short statement issued after the meeting.

When contacted, GDA leaders also avoided making any comment. One of them said “nothing was decided about the no-confidence resolution”. It was a “routine meeting” with the PM, which was arranged every time he visited Karachi as an ally of the PTI in the Centre.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2022