Imran has gone from being a cricketer to a watch thief: Sharjeel

Sindh Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan used to enjoy worldwide recognition as a cricketer, but now the international community knows him as a watch thief.

A statement issued on Sunday quoted Memon as saying that the world has been using the watch theft incident involving Imran as an example of misconduct on the part of a ruler. He lamented that Imran’s former government has tainted Pakistan’s reputation in the global community.

He said that the latest call given by the PTI chief to march on to Rawalpindi is nothing but a hollow slogan. He pointed out that Imran has been merely seeking a way to save face in the current circumstances, but even that option is unavailable to him.

He added that the ousted prime minister has emerged as the only political leader in the country who has been called a liar by the chief minister of his own party’s provincial government. He pointed out that Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi never said that the names mentioned by Imran for lodging an FIR of the Wazirabad attack are true.

“In his speeches and interviews Imran Khan adopts a threatening tone, but messages of accepting their apologies are being sent by him and his cronies behind the scenes.”

Mocking democracy

Sindh Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani said Imran has made a mockery of the country’s democratic system with his vicious attempt to exert his own will on the matter of the appointment of the new chief of army staff (COAS).

Addressing a press conference at his Clifton camp office, Ghani said that the country’s reputation has been tainted on global level because the PTI chief has been trying to set a bad precedent as regards making appointments on key state positions.

The provincial minister said that the latest long march started by the ousted PM has only one objective, which is to make an unjustified attempt by Imran to impose his own will on the matter of key appointments in the country.

He said the PTI chairman wants his favourites to hold key positions in the country to enable him to victimise his political opponents. He added that Imran should be arrested for his proven involvement in the attempt to undermine the constitution.

“It’s beyond comprehension why the federal government has been desisting from taking the due lawful action against Imran Khan after he has emerged as a security threat to the state.” Ghani said the PTI chief has chosen to bury his own politics by making the decision to go to Rawalpindi on November 26 for a protest.

He said that Imran’s long march will remain unsuccessful because the PTI chairman has no say in the matter of the appointment of the new army chief. He explained that according to the constitution, the appointment of the new COAS is solely the prerogative of the PM because only the country’s premier can elevate someone from the senior-most serving generals to the post of the army chief.

“The appointment and the retirement of an army chief is a routine matter in the country, but Imran Khan has been trying to set a precedent that key appointments in the army should be made according to his will.”

He lamented that the PTI chief sees all those people as unpatriotic who have been appointed on key state positions by the current PM. He opined that the PTI’s latest long march is an attempt to make the upcoming key appointments in the country controversial.

The minister said that although the PTI claims that it has become the most popular political force in the country, Imran still needs the backdoor channel to return to power. He accused Imran of wishing to influence the media, the judiciary and state institutions to regain power.

Ghani, who is also the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Karachi president, said that a historic public meeting will be held at the Nishtar Park on November 30 to celebrate the 55th foundation day of the party.

He mentioned that the PPP’s workers have warmly welcomed the decision of the party leadership to award a ticket to senior politician Waqar Mehdi to contest the upcoming Senate by-election in Sindh.

Mere propaganda

On Saturday Ghani had chaired the PPP Karachi Division’s meeting in which he said that the impression created by the party’s political opponents that it wants to run away from the obligation of holding local government elections in Karachi is nothing except propaganda.

On Friday Sindh government spokesman Barrister Murtaza Wahab had said that the only reason the provincial authorities had requested the Election Commission of Pakistan to delay the LG elections was because of a shortage of 17,000 police personnel to man some 5,000 polling stations to be established in Karachi.

The meeting with Ghani in chair asked the district presidents of the PPP in Karachi to gear up the preparations to contest the polls at union committee and ward levels. The minister reiterated the stance of the PPP that it has always remained keen on conducting the polls in Karachi. He said that anyone is at liberty to daydream about becoming the next mayor of the city.

Mehdi, the PPP Sindh general secretary, said Karachi’s people know very well “the development works of a historic nature” completed by the provincial government in the city. He claimed that the PPP is the true representative political party of not only Karachi’s people but also of the residents of the rest of the province. He said the party will emerge victorious in the upcoming LG polls in Karachi and secure victory all over the country in the next general elections.

The meeting also reviewed the preparations for the PPP’s public meeting at the Nishtar Park. Ghani said the PPP is holding a public meeting at the park after a long time, adding that it will break all records of the public meetings of other political parties held there. He said the arrangements for the PPP’s public meeting are being finalised in a manner that will ensure that the disturbance to the vehicular traffic around the Nishtar Park is minimal.