Banning a political party akin to killing democracy: Imran

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has said that banning any political party is akin to killing democracy.

Talking to journalists at the Adiala Jail, he said the PTI had already been banned and was not allowed to contest the elections.

Khan said the PTI’s chairman, vice chairman and president are already in prison, yet they say they would ban the PTI. He said Maryam Nawaz criticised the judges and said they were not right. He asked if the judges are only right when their (her party’s) cases are dismissed.

He also said that a certain elite class has been occupying and ruling the country for the past six decades, and that these elites have put the country at stake to protect their own interests. They do not want to hold fair and transparent elections in the country, he added.

Khan strongly condemned the Bannu incident, saying that it would worsen the situation. He claimed that everyone knows that during the Bannu incident, shots were fired at innocent people. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. He said the war on terrorism cannot be won without the nation’s support.

Replying to a question about the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s version that miscreants fired from inside the peace march in Bannu, Khan claimed that everyone knows who fired at the rally, saying that he would ask the KP chief minister to take a stern stand on the incident. He said the federal government is playing with fire. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the Bannu incident.

Khan questioned the increase in the budget of the President House, asking that in what capacity Asif Zardari increased the budget to Rs880 million. He said the present rulers are not ready to reduce their expenditures and luxuries but demand sacrifices from the people.

He claimed that martial law is already imposed in the country. Questioning the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, he said the government is already under someone else’s control.

Responding to a query about the no-confidence motion, he said that there is no difference between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, as they are the two sides of the same coin.

Khan claimed that both parties are the products of the nefarious Form 47, stressing that there would be no discussion with the PPP on any issue, including the no-confidence motion.

He said he would talk to the PPP for the no-confidence motion if he wanted to come to power. The only solution to get out of the ongoing crisis in the country is to hold transparent elections and bring better economic reforms, he added. Khan said that the Fitch report has also come out but he knows that the present government would not go to the polls. He said the government accused the PTI of being involved in the May 9 incidents but the PTI demands forming a judicial commission for them.

He asked why the CCTV camera footage of May 9 is not being brought forward, and why a judicial commission is not being constituted.

He said he himself had demanded investigation into Donald Lu’s statement and the two dissolved provincial governments, but despite the dissolution of the governments, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not conduct elections within 90 days.

He also said the Supreme Court declared the dissolution of assemblies an unconstitutional act but did not order applying Article 6, which should be applied to the ECP. He added that he is ready to live in jail for the rest of his life but would not back off his principled stand.

Khan said the Centre fears that their “fraud” election results would be exposed, and due to such a fear they would change the judges of the election tribunal.

He said that if the PTI does not get the reserved seats from the ECP despite the SC’s order, Article 6 should be applied on the ECP. He added that if anything happens to his wife Bushra Bibi, he would not spare those whose names he has already mentioned.

Bushra said her husband was earlier arrested from Zaman Park when he was sleeping. She said the police also broke the bulletproof glass in the house when they came to arrest him. The police put a cloth on his face and dragged him, she added. She also said she was allowed to meet him eight days after his arrest, claiming that he was kept in inhumane conditions during his incarceration. The high-ups of the country should be ashamed that they have kept a sincere person in prison, she added.

Bushra said thieves, robbers and dacoits are given VIP treatment and offered a government. She said she and Khan are ready to give statement on oath that the cases registered against them are false and baseless. She asked if those who had filed cases against them would give statement on oath about the legality of their cases.

She also said she called Barrister Ali Zafar two or three times but he did not answer, and asked Khan since Zafar gets so much protocol, why he cannot get the PTI founder even a mattress in jail. Bushra said she is not a coward and even her arrest was called a part of a deal. She said she is bringing these things on record because she does not know whether she would remain alive or not.

She also said Khan’s life is still in danger, claiming that he was previously poisoned and shot. She added that their application about the poisoning is pending with the court, and that it is yet to be decided. She further said she had not written the name of any person in the application but they were still afraid, so prison officers are also frequently transferred.

Bushra said she offered Nawafil after her acquittal in the Nikah during Iddat case. She said that after her acquittal she came to know that she was going to be released, so she was brought to the office of the prison superintendent.

However, she added, after seeing several people there, she realised she would not be released and was forced to go out of prison, where National Accountability Bureau officials said she was again under arrest, while one female officer also “pushed” her.

She also said she can give a statement on oath that she was given “poison” in the food, and one person had told her that “toilet cleaner” was mixed in her food. She added that she would not disclose that person’s name.

Khan said his wife’s medical examination was done after three months, so what else the results can be. Bushra said that after consuming the “poisonous” substance her health did not recover for two months, and that her mouth burnt and she used to drink seven bottles of water a day.

She denied the claim that some people within the PTI are indulging in propaganda against her, saying that she has not said anything related to the party.

Khan repeatedly forbade his wife from speaking during informal conversations with journalists. She asked him to let her talk so she can put everything in front of the media. The PTI founder told Bushra that this is a “censored” media, so they would not broadcast her point of view. Journalists said Khan and his wife’s media talk was always aired. When journalists protested, the PTI founder left.