Gandapur staging 'theatrics' at behest of Imran Khan: Khawaja Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday hit out at Ali Amin Gandapur's hard-hitting statements against the incumbent rulers, saying the KP chief minister was staging "theatrics" at behest of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan — pointing towards his speech at Swabi power show.

Speaking on Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan," Asif was questioned about potential threats to the coalition government after the former ruling party geared up for a countrywide protest movement for the "independence of judiciary" and to mount pressure on authorities to release the PTI founder.

"This government will complete its tenure," the senior leader of the ruling PML-N said dismissing any threat to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's administration from the PTI's protest call.

He added that the country's political and economic situation is returning to normalcy.

The statement came after the firebrand chief minister addressed a PTI power show in Swabi earlier today, vowing to secure release of PTI founder at all costs.

Slamming Gandapur's "threatening" tone towards the Centre, the defence czar said that the KP chief executive was "compromised" and staging "theatrics" at behest of his party's founder.

"The KP CM had attacked Islamabad twice and every time he went into hiding," he added.

He was of the view that the PTI leadership was apparently expecting its party founder's release by "setting a trap".

It is pertinent to mention here that former prime minister and PTI founder Khan was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore soon after being convicted in the Toshakhana case in August last year and since then he is behind bars in multiple cases.

Currently, he is imprisoned under better-class (B-class) facilities with high security due to his status as a former premier in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. Earlier, he was kept in Attock Jail.

He is facing several cases, including the £190 million reference and the new Toshakhana case.

Last week, the KP CM had said that they would announce a "final call" to get rid of the “Form 47” government and claimed that his party had devised a concrete plan to topple the current rulers besides announcing a series of demonstrations.

Prior to Gandapur's announcement, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja had unveiled a plan to launch a nationwide protest movement against the 26th Constitutional Amendment focused on judicial reforms, terming it an “attack on the Constitution of Pakistan and the judiciary”.

Last month, the embattled opposition party had announced a protest at D-Chowk protest for October 15, however, its political committee deferred it due to the two-day SCO summit in Islamabad.