PTI founder Imran Khan denied that his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was involved in any negative talk on social media against army martyrs. He spoke to reporters informally during his £190 million reference hearing in Adiala Jail. Imran Khan accused people who stole CCTV footage from the May 9 tragedy of trying to create conflict between PTI and the military.
He also claimed that the current government would only last for about five or six months. He said he would stay in jail until then and wait for the leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to go to London.
Imran criticized the politicization of matters by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing. He said ISPR should have talked to PTI before saying anything about a political party’s involvement in social media campaigns.
He warned about the consequences of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, predicting more inflation instead of stability. Imran believed there was a conspiracy between the caretaker government, the Election Commission, and the establishment. He said that the election had revealed many problems and people were calling for the resignation of the chief election commissioner.
Regarding the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Imran said they didn’t want to be part of the cabinet, even though they were in the coalition. He thought they didn’t have confidence in the government’s ability to work well.
Imran emphasized the importance of political stability for the country. He said the IMF shouldn’t give loans until there is stability. He believed that the solution to the country’s economic problems lay with overseas Pakistanis, but they would only invest if the government was stable.
Imran also talked about relations with Afghanistan, saying that bad relations would increase terrorism. He mentioned his government’s efforts to hold talks between the Taliban and the United States. He claimed that the former army chief had removed someone who could have solved the terrorism problem.
Imran mentioned the failure of the previous government to focus on Afghanistan, Iran, and foreign policy in general. He spoke about a meeting between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying it was about the province’s money owed by the Centre.
Imran talked about his court cases, saying he would stay in jail for a few more months, and the government would end. He believed the punishments given to him were an attempt to crush PTI, but he said this plan had failed.
Imran said he had no hard feelings towards former president Dr Arif Alvi. He also said he would invite his former ally, Sheikh Rashid, and former adversary Maulana Fazlur Rehman to a party gathering on March 23.
