Saturday, 5 November, 2022 I 9 Rabi us Sani, 1444 I Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 126 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
Imran urges contInuatIon of protests untIl ‘suspects’ step down g
says same method used for attack on him as was adopted in taseer’s murder
LAHORE
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staff report
ormer prime minister and pti chairman imran khan on friday declared that once he regains his health, he would continue his long march towards islamabad, urging his followers and workers to continue protest against rana sanaullah, shehbaz sharif and the army major-general until they step down from their posts. “i will take to the streets immediately after recovering and will carry on the [march towards] islamabad,” he said while addressing his supporters from shaukat khanum hospital in lahore where is undergoing treatment. the pti chief addressed the nation for the first time after he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt during the party’s long march in wazirabad yesterday. “to ensure an impartial and fair investigation it is necessary for the three top officials to step down as “all agencies are under their control”, imran
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Vows to carry forward long march after regaining health
khan pointed out and asked his supporters and workers to “fully participate” in the protest to demand the resignation of the three “suspects”. “never compromise on your independence. protest is your right,” he stressed. he also asked the army chief to make the senior military official resign who he accused of being involved in the assassination attempt. “this general is taking country towards destruction,” said imran while alleging that the same military official was behind the torture on pti leaders shahbaz gill and azam swati. imran khan maintained that it was incumbent upon the army chief to take action against the “black sheep to save country from disintegration”. the chairman pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) claimed of prior knowing about assassination plot against him, saying “i had already learned of being attacked somewhere between wazirabad and gujrat.” in the televised address from shaukat khanum hospital, the pti chief broke his silence and said that he had learning about the threat to
his life beforehand. the chairman pti said that they used same method for his assassination as was used for murder of former punjab governor salman taseer. “they tried to accuse me of blasphemy to turn the public against me,” he maintained. he said that the country’s biggest political party was being pushed against the wall and attempts were being made to kill him. “we have not learned anything from the past like the east pakistan incident. i knew that they will try to kill me when i was leaving for long march,” he said. imran khan said the conspirators decided to kill him as they were wary of his long march and added that he had received reports about his assignation plot from the government officials beforehand. “establishment was taken aback when they saw that the people this time [in april] did not support their decision to topple my government,” he said. imran said establishment is not aware of the ground realities. “despite knowing that the people are not ready to accept this imported government, they [establishment] are bent on enforcing their decision.” the pti chief had sustained a bullet wound to his leg after an armed attack on his container, as he led the pti’s ‘haqeeqi azadi march’ in wazirabad on thursday. the pti chief said his workers and supporters were tortured and intimidated during the party’s last long march because establishment had anticipated that the party will “vanish” though such tactics. “four people made a decision behind closed door to kill me and i had told the nation beforehand. that’s why i had recorded a video naming all four [conspirators].” earlier, at the beginning of his address, khan started berating the incumbent government and lamented how his government was ousted through a motion of no-confidence. “the government could have never lost the no-trust move, but they [the coalition leaders] used money to become successful,” he said, adding that the pti-led government also had the financial means to engage in horse trading but it refrained from doing so. he said that when the pti was in power, the thenopposition took out three long marches against the government but “we didn’t stop anyone.”
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PTI chief’s baseless allegations unacceptable, uncalled-for: ISPR RAWALPINDI staff report
the baseless and irresponsible allegations by pti chairman against the institution and particularly a senior army officer are absolutely unacceptable and uncalled-for, said ispr on friday. in a press release ispr, the media of pakistan army, said that pakistan army prides itself for being an extremely professional and well disciplined organisation with a robust and highly effective internal accountability system applicable across the board for unlawful acts, if any, committed by uniformed personnel. however, if the honour, safety and prestige of its rank and file is being tarnished by vested interests through frivolous allegations, the institution will jealousy safeguard its officers and soldiers no matter what, the ispr release added. it said the baseless allegations hurled at the institution/officials today are highly regrettable and strongly condemned. “no one will be allowed to defame the institution or its soldiers with impunity. keeping this in view, the government of pakistan has been requested to investigate the matter and initiate legal action against those responsible for defamation and false accusations against the institution and its officials without any evidence whatsoever”, the ispr said.