ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder chairman Imran Khan Tuesday admitted to groupings in the party, and said he had called both groups and would talk to them in jail on June 4 (Thursday).
Speaking to reporters in the courtroom at Adiala Jail, he ruled out any forward bloc in the PTI, adding that there were no major differences within the party.
He said that no decisions had yet been taken about the leaders leaving the party. “There will be separate judgements for party leaders who faced torture and those who left after seeing their files (of cases against them),” he maintained.
Talking about a US House of Representatives resolution demanding “full and independent investigation of claims of interference or irregularities” in Pakistan’s elections, Imran said it had raised important questions and the resolution was passed unanimously after a thorough investigation. “The resolution raised the same questions as those mentioned by Pildat, Fafen, and Pattan. The entire nation, domestic and foreign media, have questioned the transparency of the election. Everyone knows that the election was rigged,” he said.
When asked that the government claimed the PTI had lobbied in the US for the resolution, Imran responded, “The Israeli lobby is the strongest in the US, but it could never bring such a resolution (in Israel’s favour) in country’s history.” When asked whether the resolution was an interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs or was it the cipher case, Imran said, “The resolution is related to the elections, while the cipher was related to the end of my government. I still stand by Donald Lu’s intervention.”
Regarding the slogans raised against Umar Ayub, which were seen as a sign of division in the party, Imran defended him, saying, “Umar Ayub has sacrificed immensely for the party and has seen a lot of hard times. His services to the party are unforgettable.” When asked about Fawad Chaudhary’s claims that Imran had sent him a meeting message and his continuous criticism of the PTI’s current leadership, Imran did not respond to it. However, he criticised the current budget, calling it a cruel document that would lead to a storm of inflation, with increases in electricity and gas rates and taxes. “Instead of reducing its expenditure, the government put the entire burden on the poor people,” he said.
He also mentioned that the interior minister had harmed cricket. “This government is a product of rigging, and the whole country is running on lies,” Imran asserted. He also noted that the government had submitted its proposal against the US resolution, but instead of presenting resolutions, the government should focus on saving the country through transparent elections.
“A government with a people’s mandate can bring the country out of trouble by carrying out reforms. I am not allowed to bring even a single paper into jail. Forty people used to visit Nawaz Sharif every day in jail. I still don’t know which candidate from our party won the election,” Imran stated.
Imran expressed anger over the jail administration’s refusal to let him speak, stating to the deputy superintendent jail that it was an open trial and he could not be stopped from speaking. He noted that two good officers in Adiala Jail had been replaced.
Bushra Bibi, during a brief conversation with journalists in the courtroom, said, “Liars, frauds, and thieves rule the country. The current government is a satanic setup, bringing the country and the army into disrepute. My God will bring them down.”
Meanwhile, talking to senior journalist Hamid Mir in Geo News show ‘Capital Talk’, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan said that efforts to break party were still going on, and some people have been launched recently for the purpose.
These people are trying to create a narrative about the party. Some people in the party think that the leadership is not doing enough to release Imran Khan, he said.There is complete freedom to express one’s opinion on party forums, he claimed and added party discipline says not to take that opinion into the public domain. “Just because some people express their opinion on public forum does not mean that the party is falling apart.”
Hasan said that Imran was not making any deals, that’s why he was in jail, adding, “Imran could have come out in 10 days in the beginning but he did not make a deal.”
He said that they were a political party, and could not go to Adiala Jail with guns to have Imran released, adding that they were fighting for the release of Imran on the parliamentary and legal front. He said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the PTI are trying to move forward together with each other. Raoof Hasan said that the some ‘touts’ were are running a narrative against the top PTI leadership on social media, adding there is no impression in the PTI that those who left the party should be brought back, he said. The majority opinion within the party was that those who left the party should not be brought back, he claimed. Imran did not ask to take back those who left the party at any stage, he said, adding that the PTI founder would decide about those only after his release.
Raoof Hasan said Fawad had been expelled from PTI after he joined another party, so he had no right to comment on the party. He clarified that the PTI had not hired any lobbying firm, adding that the party did not have money for salaries, and the families of those who gave money to PTI were being targeted.