Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was so anxious to save power that he begged the military establishment till the last minute to rescue his administration, said governing PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz.
For more than half of Pakistan’s 75 years of existence, the powerful army has dominated the country, wielding great clout in areas of security and foreign affairs. It has, however, distanced itself from the recent high-voltage political fight between Shehbaz Sharif and Khan, claiming that it is unrelated to politics.
Speaking at a workers’ convention in Lahore on Tuesday, Maryam said, ‘Imran Khan was so desperate that he, till his last minutes in power, had begged the establishment to save his government. He even had requested former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to help him in the wake of a no-confidence motion against him’.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader was alluding to Khan’s frantic attempt to postpone the no-confidence vote against him until the Supreme Court opened midnight on April 10 and instructed him to allow the constitutional process to run its course.
Khan was deposed as PM on April 10 following a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, making him the first Pakistani prime leader to be deposed by Parliament in the country’s coup-prone history.
Nawaz Sharif, Maryam’s father and three-time Prime Minister, has tasked Maryam with organising demonstrations, particularly in Punjab, to counter Khan’s public power displays. Sharif, who was charged with corruption by the previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) administration led by Khan, departed for London in November 2019 after the Lahore High Court gave him a four-week leave to travel overseas for medical treatment.
Sharif recently received a new passport from the new PML(N)-led coalition government, opening the path for his return to Pakistan. The Sharif family, on the other hand, has stated that a decision on the 72-year-old PML-N leader’s homecoming will be made at a later date.
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The days of trouble for Khan have begun, Maryam warned the agitated employees. ‘Imran Khan is crying that Nawaz Sharif has ended his government while sitting in London. Imagine what state of mind Imran will be in when Nawaz returns’, she said, adding, ‘It was Nawaz’s art of politics that after three-and-a-half years he managed to send Khan back to the container. It will be better for Khan to play cricket as politics is not his cup of tea’.
The outspoken PML-N leader said that the deposed premier’s corruption allegations will be exposed shortly. According to Maryam, Khan attempted to rule the country by ‘jadu tona (witchcraft)’. She said that his wife’s acquaintance Farah Gogi was involved in enormous corruption at their request and that Khan assisted him in fleeing the country.
Maryam dubbed the former Prime Minister ‘Tosha Khan’ saying he sold Pakistan’s honour by selling gifts from foreign heads of state he received as PM. ‘This man talks about the country’s sovereignty and on the other hand sells Toshakhana (national treasury) gifts in Dubai’s open market. He should be ashamed of this act in which he got over Rs 180 million (by selling gifts)’, Maryam said.
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