Imran Khan regrets he failed to enforce rule of law

GUJRAT: Amid PTI’s long march, the party chairman Imran Khan on Friday reiterated that the criteria for the next army chief’s appointment should be based on merit. 

The PTI chief said the PML-N supremo will make this decision based on who will save his misdeeds and added, “Nawaz Sharif always brings up the man who is beneficial to him.”

The former prime minister, during his address to marchers via video link, said: “Whoever fits the merit should be appointed the army chief.” 

Criticising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for consulting PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif for Pakistan’s next army chief, Khan said: “The prime minister went to a house made of stolen money to meet a convict in London. This man [Nawaz Sharif] was reported to have killed hundreds of people in police encounters. They are going to decide on the next army chief. No one, in a developed country, can imagine something like this.”

The PTI chief said the PML-N supremo will make this decision based on who will save his theft. He added that the ‘debacle’ taking place in London is not happening to strengthen institutions. “Nawaz Sharif always brings up the man who is beneficial for him,” Khan said referring to the appointment’s decision. “Prosperous countries have strong institutions. What they are doing in London is dramatics,” he said, claiming that Nawaz Sharif had never looked at merit when making appointments.

Slamming the Sharif brothers’ governance in the past, the former premier said: “They have tried to bribe judges. It’s part of their history. They don’t let the judiciary function. They have destroyed the police. Since the start, they have been trying to either buy or scare.” The PTI chief added that controlling the institutions was similar to destroying them.

Sharing his annoyance with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Khan said the ECP connived with the coalition government to not introduce electronic voting machines (EVM). “Ninety percent of rigging can be eliminated through EVM,” the former premier maintained.

Khan asked the nation to participate in his party’s long march for generations to come and added that it was important to bring justice and prosperity to the country. “Justice means that everyone is equal under the law. This is not the case in Pakistan. Successful countries around the world have strong institutions. A strong country stands upon strong institutions,” the PTI chief said speaking to the marchers.

Khan added that a country could never prosper if there is no rule of law. He told the long march’s participants that overseas Pakistanis are familiar with justice, and they leave because it doesn’t exist here. “The weaker people go to jail, while deals are made with the strong thieves here. All of this happens because there is no rule of law,” he said in his address.

The former prime minister conceded that he failed to enforce rule of law when he was in the government due to multiple issues.

Condemning the coalition government for attempting to control institutions, the former prime minister said: “They have never done anything on merit in their life. They want to control institutions to save their money. Institutions cannot apprehend the powerful.”

He maintained that this is not just a problem in Pakistan, but in all poor countries. Commenting on surviving the attempted assassination, Khan said: “They thought I would quietly sit down after getting shot. The nation has awareness. Muazzam and Ibtesam are examples of it. Their preparation was complete. [But] saviour is greater than the killer.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Imran Khan avoided direct answers to “difficult” questions by a German TV anchor in an interview. When asked if he considered himself Donald Trump of the US, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil or Rodrigo Duterte of The Philippines to use his popularity for a march on the capital after his ouster through a no-confidence motion, Imran Khan refused a direct answer and said peaceful protest was his constitutional right. “My government was removed through an auction, not an election. PTI MNAs were bought and a conspiracy was hatched to kill me in the name of religion,” he added.