| PM warns opposition of consequences if move fails | Terms PDM alliance as ‘gang of thus’ | Information Minister scorns opposition’s ultimatums
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MAILSI: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday took the opposition to task over their steps to bring a no-confidence motion against him, warning them of “dire consequences” in case their endeavour failed.
“I am prepared to respond to them but I want to ask them, ‘are you prepared to face what I will do once the no-confidence move fails’,” he said while addressing a gathering in Punjab’s Mailsi city.
The premier said that he would “fight off this gang till the last drop of his blood”.
He called opposition leaders a “gang of thugs fleeing accountability”, saying: “These thugs have been looting this country for the past 35 years.” He added: “These thugs have made a wealthy nation poor.”
The nation, he said, continues to remain in the same state when such thugs unite to plunder the resources and take turns to do so.”
PM Imran went on to say that such thugs start to make a joint effort to topple the government when any sort of accountability is initiated against them.
He further said that because of this “gang”, the Pakistani nation is today under debt. “A nation that cannot tell right from wrong can never uplift itself.”
Taking aim at opposition leaders, he said: “One that flees the country can never be its leader. In the past too, Nawaz Sharif fled Attock jail by forging lies.”
PM Imran said, “They have put up a show and this absconder and his daughter [Mariam Nawaz] then blame the armed forces.”
Never call Fazl ‘Maulana’
Calling Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman “Fazlu”, PM Imran said: “I will never call him a Maulana and I urge him to rather think about his Hereafter.”
“Both, he and I are of the same age and we don’t know when either of us dies. So I will advise him to think about hereafter,” he advised the JUI-F leader.
“This man [Fazl] takes seminary students to the streets to fulfil his ‘interests’. The fact is the country doesn’t need a conspirer with him present here.”
He further told Fazl that he should “fear God on making money in the name of religion”.
Turning his guns towards the PML-N president, Premier Imran said: “If someone wants to know Shehbaz Sharif’s reality, they should bring Maqsood chaprasi forth.”
Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday reiterated that the opposition’s ultimatums to Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down or face a no-trust motion will be unsuccessful.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, the minister stated that Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ultimatum of 48 hours and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s deadline of five days were nothing but empty threats.
Fawad, echoing the ruling party’s sentiment, furthered that the opposition’s march will prove to be unsuccessful and they will “go home next week with their movement and claims unfulfilled.”
He also said that the PM after attending the upcoming Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers will make “important visits”.
The minister’s remarks came three days after Bilawal’s March 3 speech, in which he gave a five-day ultimatum to PM Imran to either step down or dissolve the assemblies to pave the way for fresh elections in order to avoid the wrath of his marchers coming to Islamabad.
However, his father party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and PDM chief Rehman during a recently held meeting could not agree on a date for tabling the no-confidence motion against the government.
In reponse to Bilawal’s statement’s, PM Imran Khan on Saturday threw down the gauntlet to the opposition parties for bringing a no-confidence motion against his government, saying that he had confidence in the party’s lawmakers and homework was complete to defeat the opposition parties’ move.
While challenging the opposition parties that have long been threatening the government with long marches and no-trust motion, sources revealed, the prime minister had said that the opposition was more than welcome to test the waters by going ahead with their move to oust him.
