On Friday (November 4), former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan likened himself to the ‘Founding father of Bangladesh’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and alleged that the situation in the country was similar to that of 1971 (which forced the creation of another nation).
He made the remarks at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore. The development came a day after he was shot by an assailant during the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in the Wazirabad area of Punjab.
Once a blue-eyed boy of the Pakistani establishment, he did not mince any words before attacking the army. “What happened in East Pakistan? The military acted against the party that won the majority and snatched their rights,” Khan was heard as saying.
“What happened in East Pakistan. The largest party that won, they took action against it…’, says Imran Khan as he draws parallels between 1971 & 2022 in his country. pic.twitter.com/GPRDGiFPyk
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) November 4, 2022
The ex-Pakistani cricketer was suggesting the role of the Pakistani military in unseating him as the country’s Prime Minister, despite ‘winning’ the people’s mandate. He highlighted how the military intervention in East Pakistan and disregard for people’s choices led to the breakup of the country.
“The Pakistan cricket team went to Bangladesh, 18 years after the 1971 war, to play two exhibition matches against India. We won the matches and the stadium (filled with Bangladeshis) reverberated with the chants of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’,” he claimed.
Imran Khan further alleged, “They did not want to leave us but we committed atrocities, which forced them to hate us. You (The Pakistani army) are doing the same thing now. Subjugating the largest political party (aka PTI) and trying to assassinate its leader.”
Only PTI can keep the country together: Imran Khan
“People are not recognising the group of thieves (referring to the ruling parties, PML-N and PPP) as their leaders, who are now being handed power in Pakistan (by the establishment),” he continued.
Imran Khan claimed, “As such, they are trying to kill me. In this way, Pakistan’s largest party will disintegrate without a leader. The only party that can keep the country intact is PTI.”
The former Pakistani Prime Minister has also blamed three people, namely, Major General Faisal Naseer, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif, for the assassination attempt against him.
Pakistan army cries foul, accuses Imran Khan of defaming institution
In a statement, the Pakistan army has termed the allegations against Major Naseer and the establishment as ‘baseless’ and ‘irresponsible.’
“Pakistan army prides itself for being an extremely professional and well-disciplined organisation with a robust and highly effective internal accountability system applicable across the board for unlawful acts, if any, committed by uniformed personnel,” it said.
The army emphasised, “However, if the honour, safety and prestige of its rank and file is being tarnished by vested interests through frivolous allegations, the institution will jealousy safeguard its officers and soldiers no matter what. The baseless allegations hurled at the institution/officials today are highly regrettable and strongly condemned.”
“No one will be allowed to defame the institution or its soldiers with impunity. Keeping this in view, the government of Pakistan has been requested to investigate the matter and initiate legal action against those responsible for defamation and false accusations against the institution and its officials without any evidence whatsoever,” the statement concluded.
