| Challenges media, economists, Opposition to hold a debate | Dubs Fazl, Zardari, Shahbaz ‘three stooges’ | Thanks Opp for helping people forget prices of commodities
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Tuesday the entire nation was ready to go down with him rather than supporting the “three stooges”, as he slammed the Opposition amid rising political tensions due to the no-confidence motion.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has also “thanked” the opposition parties for moving no-trust motion against him, saying that the people have forgotten about inflation and other issues because of opposition’s move.
“Thanks to the opposition, because of which people have forgotten about inflation and prices of tomatoe and onions… not only the no-confidence motion will fail but also the opposition will lose the 2023 elections,” said the premier while addressing ‘Overseas Convention’ in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The premier said the opposition’s attempt to topple his government has also helped him to re-strengthen his party.
“Leaders of PPP and PML-N and [JUI-F chief] Fazlur Rehman used to call each other thieves and now these ‘three stooges’ have formed alliance against me,” he added.
The premier once again clarified that he was not the one who labeled JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman as “diesel” but it was a member of PML-N who gave him this title “because he used to earn money by selling diesel permits”.
“If the country is to be rescued by these ‘three stooges’ then people are better off drowning with Imran Khan,” the premier remarked.
The prime minister’s statement comes two days after he shared that his main objective of joining politics 25 years ago was not to check the prices of “potatoes and tomatoes” but to make Pakistani people a great nation.
“I did not need to come into politics because I had achieved everything in my life. I entered politics only for the future of the [Pakistani] youth,” he said while delivering a hard-hitting speech to a political gathering in Hafizabad on Sunday.
These remarks came in the wake of the united opposition front submitting a requisition for a no-confidence motion against him on March 8, pinning its hopes for its success on the estranged members of the ruling party and its allies.
PM Imran has maintained that he was not worried by the opposition’s bid to oust him through a no-confidence motion.
‘Not anti-US, anti-India’
Speaking about the country’s foreign policy, PM Imran in today’s speech, said he was not against any country and added that only an insane person can go against the entire world. “I am not anti-America or anti-India… only an insane person can go against the entire world. However, I was against their policies such as war on terror and Iraq invasion,” the premier remarked.
Hitting out at Indian PM Narendra Modi, the premier said his policy of Hindutva is taking the neighbouring country towards the path of destruction “because this ideology considers Hindus racially superior than others”.
PM Imran said he opposed the US policy of carrying out drone strike inside any country because no [state] has the right to violate international laws.
“You cannot be the Judge, jury and the executioner… you don’t allow others to do the same… will you allow us to carry out drone attack on the criminal sitting in London,” the PM said while referring to MQM founder Altaf Hussain.
PM Imran said the past governments of PPP and PML-N remained tight-lipped while the US carried out almost 400 drone strikes inside Pakistan.
“They [PPP and PML-N] did not speak out against them because they fear that their offshore assets could be frozen… they can even sell Pakistan to protect their wealth.”
On past conspiracies and ZAB
Quoting Indian journalist Barka Dutt’s book, the premier said Nawaz as prime minister of the country held a secret meeting with his Indian counterpart Modi in Nepal.
Likewise, the premier said Hussain Haqqani as Pakistan’s envoy to the US during the PPP era asked American officials to protect the then president, Asif Ali Zardari from Pakistan’s military.
However despite differences, PM Imran said, he admired the leadership of former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
“I admit that Bhutto was an upright leader. He would stand for the country’s interests and that’s why people are proud of him,” he remarked.
‘My govt better than all’
At the end of his speech, PM Imran maintained that no government in the past had performed better than his administration given the “unprecedented challenges” such as Covid-19 pandemic.
“I challenge media, economists and opposition parties to hold a public debate over my government’s performance during the last three-and-a-half years.”
