Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Sunday accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supremo Imran Khan of taking Pakistan into bloodshed and chaos, adding that the former prime minister should stop calling the army for help and do politics alone as no one will help him now, The News International reported.
Asif made these statements while addressing a press conference at his residence in Sialkot, Pakistan.
The News International report further quoted Asif as saying that the PTI had the platform of assemblies they rejected, and now they were asking the institutions to facilitate them for talks with the government.
He said Khan made baseless accusations and allegations against former President Asif Ali Zardari like Zardari wanted to get Khan killed. Due to this, there was fear of bloodshed in Pakistan’s politics and at that time if anything would have happened, Khan would have been responsible, the report stated.
He further mentioned that the leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party had made sacrifices in the fight against terror, as he cited the assassinations of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. He also mentioned that by accusing Asif Zardari of wanting him dead, Imran had shifted from his stance yet again, which might bring more chaos to an already embattled country.
Asif also accused Khan of being responsible for the country’s economic downfall. He said all the cards that Khan had played were rendered useless. “Khan used to blame the USA for bringing down his government, but now he was accusing caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi of doing so. This is a clear contradiction in Khan’s words and actions,” the report quoted him as adding.
The minister said the PTI had sought dissolution of the Assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Imran, himself, had said he did not want to sit with thieves and dacoits. After that, he said his party members would withdraw their resignations from the Assembly, the minister claimed in the report.
The report quoted him as saying that when the PTI’s resignations started being accepted, Imran Khan said: “We are coming back to the assembly”.