Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday said Nawaz Sharif should have announced the launch of Radd-ul-Fasad.

Khan believes the PM should have convened a meeting to take all chief ministers in confidence prior to initiating the military action across Pakistan and should have informed the chief executives of respective provinces about the current scenario. While talking to journalists at the Peshawar Press Club, he remarked, “A military operation could achieve its objectives when it is carried out with the consensus of civil government and military troops.”

Flanked by Chief Minister, Pervez Khattak, Provincial Minister for Public Health and Engineering, Shah Farman, Advisor to CM on Information, Mushtaq Ghani and others, the skipper said it was a defining moment in the Supreme Court and first time in history where a prime minister has been questioned.

Regarding the Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s written confessional statement, he stated that it proved the PM was involved in money laundering.

Khan believed that after the Panama Case hearing in the Supreme Court, nobody would dare engage in corruption, tax evasion, money laundering and other irregularities in the country. He added, “I had never thought that a PM will be questioned and challenged in this way.”

To a question regarding the verdict of Panama Case, he replied it will be better for the entire country and would set a precedent.

The ‘Kaptaan’ said it was decided that no armed militia will operate in the country under the National Action Plan but this was unlikely since it was not implemented in its true letter and spirit.

However, he claimed no reforms were introduced in the police by some provinces under the NAP and only the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police were empowered and depoliticized. It was the belief that terrorism was wiped out after the launch of Zarb-e-Azb but terror related incidents are again taking place in the country.

He reiterated that no operation had started in Punjab and that it should have been kicked off in the entire country for the elimination of terrorism and extremism.

“Our party in Punjab and Sindh will table the police reforms bill which is similar to the KP Police Reforms Act so that the police department becomes depoliticized,” he added.

The PTI leader said the merger of tribal regions with KP will benefit tribesmen in the long term.

To a question regarding harassment of Pashtuns by Punjab police, he flayed the latter for harassing the Pashtuns and vehemently asserted that they should not be treated this way. He added that the KP CM should visit areas in Punjab to address the problems faced by Pashtuns.