KARACHI/LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday alleged that the “military establishment has not learned anything from past mistakes as political engineering is still being carried out” in the country.

The former prime minister was referring to efforts being made to unite different factions of the Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment and the entry of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leaders into the Pak­istan Peoples Party (PPP).

Addressing a women’s convention of PTI in Karachi via video link from his residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park, he said political engineering had damaged the country. “Our establishment [still] has not learned from the past,” the PTI chief said, hinting at the alleged meddling by the powers-that-be in political affairs.

Mr Khan alleged that a “different game” was being played in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where PTI is at the helm of affairs. He claimed that efforts were being made to bring Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to power in Punjab and added that political engineering would be carried out to weaken the PTI. “It has already done so much damage to the country,” he said.

During his speech, Imran Khan again blamed former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa for “pushing Pakistan into crises” and alleged that efforts were being made to hurt the former ruling party.

“We all know the person whose decisions pushed Pakistan into crises,” he said, adding that he had predicted this ‘instability’ seven months ago.

“Now everyone knows about that one person, Gen Bajwa who ruined the country’s political and economic gains despite my efforts to educate him that weakening the PTI government will not be in the interest of the country,” the PTI chairman claimed.

The PTI chief reiterated his demand for fair and transparent elections in the country, saying he didn’t need “anyone’s support” in the electoral process. “If transparent general elections are held, PTI will form a government. We have to bring a peaceful revolution in the country through ballot boxes,” he said. “No weak political government or technocrats will be able to take strong decisions to put the country’s economy on the right path,” he reiterated.

The former prime minister asked people to vote for PTI in local body elections on Jan 15 in Karachi. “I want to say to the women of Karachi that this is not politics anymore, now it is jihad. You are coming out for the country,” he added.

He also came down heavily on the leadership of the PPP and PML-N, claiming that the country stopped developing and the economy was ruined when these two families made a partnership in the 90s. Chiding the PDM government for giving an advertisement in newspapers that it had averted default, the PTI chief said the PDM government was now begging around the world. He warned that any bailout would require a massive price in terms of compromising the country’s sovereignty and future.

He regretted that the country was fast heading towards a Sri Lanka-like situation and people would soon be compelled to come out on the roads. Citing an example, Mr Khan said flour prices had risen manifold and one man lost his life while standing in a line to get flour. “People are losing hope,” he lamented.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2023