Pakistan’s deposed prime minister, Imran Khan, warned on Thursday that the country will ‘split into pieces’ if elections were not held quickly. Khan, who was deposed in April by a no-confidence vote, told the local television channel Bol News, ‘We will see if they let us progress towards elections by legal and constitutional procedures, otherwise, this nation would go towards [a] civil war’.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party president said that returning to the National Assembly would ‘mean admitting the plot’ that had deposed his administration. He said that Indian think groups headquartered overseas are plotting to separate Balochistan from Pakistan. ‘ Indian think tanks overseas are considering separating Balochistan; they have plans; this is why I am exerting pressure,’ Khan remarked, without specifying who he is putting pressure on.
PM Shehbaz Sharif reacted angrily to Khan’s remarks, tweeting, ‘While I am in Turkey inking deals, Imran Niazi is making bald threats against the country. If there was any doubt that Niazi is unfit for public service, his recent interview provides it. Do your politics, but don’t cross the line and discuss Pakistan’s separation.’
Since being dismissed from power earlier this year, Khan has been seeking new elections, saying that his administration was deposed as a result of a so-called US plot. According to him, the current coalition government led by Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party was ‘imported’ and not a real representative of the Pakistani people.
Imran stated that if Pakistan lost its nuclear deterrent capabilities, the country would be split into three parts. ‘If the correct decisions aren’t taken now, the country will commit suicide,’ he said. The former prime minister led hundreds of supporters to Islamabad in a protest last Wednesday, intending to organize a sit-in until the elections were declared, but unexpectedly called off the sit-in after arriving in the capital. He later promised to return in six days if the administration did not set a date for the country’s quick elections.
Post Your Comments