ISLAMABAD, Apr 08 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday expressed his firm resolve not to let an “imported government” be imposed in Pakistan to serve the interests of foreign powers.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is confronting an opposition alliance of around a dozen religio-political parties, said, “The people of Pakistan are not slaves.”
“Pakistan did not come into being to follow the diktats of foreign powers. Out Kalima La Illah Illallah and Iyaka Nabado wa Iyaka Nastaeen are our guiding principles,” he said and added that the country was created by the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of precious lives from a united India in 1947.
Imran Khan urged the nation, particularly the youth to rise and stand with him in his struggle to protect the sovereignty of Pakistan.
“Your future is at stake. If you do not take a stand to protect the sovereignty of our country, we will continue to remain subservient. The nation has to rise together to save Pakistan,” he said in an impassioned tone.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan desired good relations with all countries on basis of mutual respect. “Imran Khan is not anti-American, but we are not like a tissue paper to be used and trashed.”
He said he had struggled for his party’s success for 14 years. “The people used to make fun of us, but with the blessings of Allah we rose to this stature.”
He said he had neither any property, nor any bank accounts abroad and had nothing to lose, and his only objective was to raise the dignity and prestige of Pakistan.
He recalled the decision to dissolve the National Assembly last Saturday and said he took the decision so that he could go back to the people who had brought him to the place, and participate in a fresh election, in a perfectly democratic way.
“However, the group of politicians, who got NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) 1 earlier, now have NRO 2 and their objective is to disband the National Accountability Bureau, stop the corruption cases, as almost all of them [leaders of the PDM alliance] are on bail. But please understand that it is your money that they have looted.”
He said the opposition alliance was against the use of Electronic Voting Machines as “they do not want free, fair and transparent elections, and deny the voting rights to overseas Pakistanis”.
The prime minister said 26 years ago, he founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the principles on self-respect, justice and creation of a welfare state.
He further said he was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision, however he accepted it as he respected the judiciary.
“I once went to jail for the independence of judiciary as I believed that only the judiciary is the guardian of the justice system.”
He said the deputy speaker prorogued the National Assembly session because of the foreign interference, which was a serious allegation. As a foreign country conspired to topple his government so he wanted a probe in the issue and the judges should have looked at the letter from that country, he remarked.
“The court should see whether we are telling truth or not.”
He alleged that open horse-trading was done by the opposition, and the conscience of parliamentarians was bought, who were kept in the hotels.
Imran Khan asked what kind of democracy it was that the conscience of politicians was being bought.
Calling the youth future of the country, he said it was responsibility of the elders to guide them and shape their morality to resist trends like buying and selling of the conscience of politicians.
The politics of Changa Manga was started 35 years back by the Sharifs and now even members who came on reserved seats sold themselves, he added.
He said he did not witness the buying of parliamentarians in the Western democracies.
The prime minister said it was responsibility of the citizens to stop the evil of corruption from spreading in the society.
In Britain, two million people took to the streets against the war in Iraq and took a moral stand, he recalled.
He urged the nation to save themselves and their future generations from the evil, and protect the dignity and honour of the country.
Disclosing contents of the letter about foreign interference, he said an official of the United States met the Pakistani envoy and stated that Prime Minister Imran Khan should not have gone to Russia.
The official further said if the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was defeated, Pakistan would suffer and if the motion succeeded Pakistan would be forgiven, he added.
He said it was insulting for 220 million people that the Prime Minister of Pakistan would be removed through foreign interference.
“We should ask why we got independence if we are being treated like this by foreign powers.”
He said after the no-confidence motion, suddenly the parliamentarians started to change their loyalties and the media turned against the government and American diplomats held meetings with the Pakistani politicians.
It was a plan and script against him, and the nation had to decide whether it wanted to stay as a slave nation, he added.
He said his crime was that he opposed drone attacks, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The United States carried out some 400 drone attacks against Pakistan and the opposition parties did not condemn it, he noted.
Presently the United States was confiscating offshore accounts of Russians because of the war in Ukraine, he continued.
India was buying oil from Russia and no power could influence its decisions, but Pakistan was treated as a slave despite the fact that it lost lives of 80,000 civilians and 3.5 million were made homeless during the war against terrorism.
He said sanctions were imposed on Pakistan after the Afghan war against the Soviet Union and the country was not appreciated for its role by the United States.
He said the government should make foreign policy in the interest of the people of Pakistan and for the sake of peace.
He said his government was toppled with Rs 10 to 15 billion rupees spent by a foreign power. “Although I am not against any country and wanted mutually beneficial relations.”
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