“From day one, they (opposition) have been trying to blackmail me,” said PM Imran Khan.
Islamabad:
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday launched a scathing attack against the opposition parties ahead of the no-confidence vote and said that “three rats” are looting the country for the last 30 years. He blamed them for seeking amnesty for politicians, political workers who were accused of corruption.
Speaking at a power show in Islamabad, Imran Khan lauded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers for refusing the opposition’s offers to bribe them in return for their votes on the no-trust motion. “I am proud of you,” he said.
While referring to the main opposition parties (Pakistan Muslim League (N), Pakistan Peoples Party), he said, “These three rats are looting the country for the last 30 years.”
“For the last 30 years, they jointly sucked the blood of the country. They have accumulated millions of dollars worth of property outside the country and have offshore accounts. All this drama is happening for the sake of NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance). They want Imran Khan to kneel in front of them, as (former Pakistan army) General Pervez Musharraf did,” Imran Khan said during a rally at the Parade Ground in the capital city.
“From day one, they (opposition) have been trying to blackmail me,” he added
The Pakistan PM thanked the participants for responding to his call for the rally and vowed to speak his heart out to discuss the conspiracy against him.
The show of strength by Imran Khan comes as the opposition geared up for a no-trust vote in the National Assembly to oust his government. This comes as the opposition has geared up for a no-trust vote in the National Assembly to oust his government over massive corruption, unemployment, inflation and price hike.
Earlier this week, Imran Khan had claimed that the no-confidence motion was tabled so that the opposition leaders could get an ‘easy escape’. “Three rats are trying to hunt me down but what they don’t know is that they will be hunted down instead… I will defeat them,” he had said during a rally in Mansehra.
Earlier, rumours of Imran Khan resigning from his office were rife after the renaming of Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office YouTube channel to “Imran Khan” on Saturday.
The no-confidence motion was submitted by the Opposition parties on March 8 after the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) long march in Islamabad. The Opposition has been confident that its motion would be carried as many PTI lawmakers have come out in the open against PM Imran Khan.
As the crucial no-confidence motion session inched closer and uncertainty continued to shroud political alliances, at least 50 ministers belonging to the ruling party had gone ‘missing’ from the political front.
The Pakistani National Assembly has a total strength of 342 members, with the majority mark being 172. The PTI led coalition was formed with the support of 179 members, with Imran Khan’s PTI having 155 members, and four major allies Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) having seven, five, five and three members respectively.
Imran Khan’s situation was precarious given that three of the four allies, that is, MQM-P, PML-Q and BAP had stated their support to the Opposition’s no-confidence motion and said that they will vote accordingly.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)