ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif is deliberately targeting the army and the judiciary after his ouster, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Sunday. He was addressing a public gathering held at the Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi. Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad and the top PTI leadership was also present on the occasion. “For three years, Nawaz Sharif controlled all the institutions. This is the first time that he has been unable to control the joint investigation team. That is why he is calling it a conspiracy. This is not a conspiracy, this is Naya Pakistan,” he said. Throwing his support behind the judiciary, Khan said that this was the era of social media and women and the youth were more vigilant than before. “The nation will stand by the SC if needed. Only two types of people support Sharif: those whose interests are associated with him and those who are misled by him. Nawaz Sharif was expelled after the due judicial process, yet he says that the honour of [people’s] vote is at stake,” he said. The PTI chief criticised the proposal to eliminate Articles 62 and 63 from the Constitution, warning of massive agitation in Islamabad if any conspiracy was hatched against the Constitution. PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Nawaz Sharif was lying to the people. “Nawaz has been disqualified because he fooled and mislead the nation, and plundered the national exchequer. Nawaz Sharif talks about honouring the mandate; [he should know that] transparent elections guarantee the honour of the mandate,” said Qureshi. He asked the crowd to join him in creating a new Pakistan under the leadership of PTI chief Imran Khan. Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed slammed the Sharif family, accusing them of corruption. He also claimed that the PML-N had tried to murder him. “Nawaz Sharif is now trying to mislead the nation about the reasons of his ouster from power,” he said. Published in Daily Times, August 14th 2017.