Pakistan: PM accuses Khan of planning to trigger civil war
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has accused his predecessor Imran Khan of planning to trigger a civil war in the country and warned of legal action for concocting a narrative against the country’s national institutions. His remarks came on the heels of Pakistan’s powerful army warning its critics to avoid throwing dirt on the premier institution as it took “strong exception” to “intensified and deliberate attempts” to drag it into politics after the removal of the Khan-led government last month.
The 69-year-old cricketerturned-politician was voted out of power last month through a no-confidence motion, which he alleges was masterminded by the US with the help of local players over his pursuance of an independent foreign policy. His supporters used social media to target the army for doing nothing to save his government.
Shehbaz’s office issued a statement late on Sunday night, saying that the premier termed Khan’s address at a rally in Abbottabad “a grand conspiracy against Pakistan”.
“What Imran Khan said yesterday was horrible. He is poisoning the minds of the country’s masses. The country will be further divided and this language must be stopped according to the Constitution and law,” Shehbaz said while addressing the National Assembly.
Khan had told his audience that Siraj ud-daula was the governor of Bengal appointed by the Mughal emperor and his commander-in-chief, Mir Jaffar, joined hands with the English to topple Daula’s government.
In the same vein, the former premier alleged his government was toppled by “the Mir Jafars and Mir Sadiqs of today”.
He didn’t talk about the role of Mir Sadiq but it is said that he was a general of Tippu Sultan who colluded with the East India Company to defeat Tippu, the daring ruler of Mysore.
Shehbaz said Khan’s comments were “very dangerous and terrifying” as he directly likened Pakistan’s institutions to Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq.
“The poison he spewed about the institution yesterday is a conspiracy against it and Pakistan. If this is not stopped through the law and the Constitution then God forbid this country will become a hideous reflection of Syria and Libya where cities present scenes of graveyards today,” he said.
Shehbaz also criticised the military for allegedly supporting Imran Khan who was the “blue-eyed” of the institution (army) and “was fed milk like a child”. “Without fear I want to say that in 75 years, this institution has never supported any government or PM like it did Imran Khan,” he said, adding that had the army provided 20% to 30% of that support to the past governments of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) or Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N), the fate of the country would have been different.