Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: As the opposition is geared up to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan through no-confidence motion, the voting is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Prime Minister Imran Khan held one of the biggest rallies in his party’s history at the Parade Ground. At the beginning of his speech, the premier thanked the attendees of the Jalsa for responding to his call and gathered in Islamabad from every part of the country. The premier also lauded his team for arranging the Jalsa and paid them tribute

PM called out the “corrupt” opposition leaders and said that whether he loses his government or his life, he will never forgive them. The premier, while responding to the criticism about him using religious references during his political speeches, said that when he joined politics 25 years ago, it was for the sake of the ideology of Pakistan.

“Nations are built on ideologies, and the ideology on the basis of which Pakistan came into being was Islam,” he said. The premier then added that he learned through his experience of living in the West that the true teachings of Islam were followed over there instead of Pakistan.

“I learned about the concept of a welfare state after living in the United Kingdom,” he said. “This was exactly the model on which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had established the state of Madinah.”

He said that Muslims ruled the world for a long time as they followed in the footsteps of the holy prophet (PBUH).

“Based on those ideals, I envisioned a welfare state in Pakistan and Alhamdulillah, we have already started a journey on that path. I am proud of the fact that we have introduced a health system in the country based on the principles of welfare.”

The premier then lauded his government’s efforts in terms of the Ehsaas programme, providing housing loans to the poor, and providing a Rs250 billion subsidy to reduce the prices of petrol and electricity.

“Today, I assure you that as I will continue to collect money through taxes, I will utilise that money for the betterment of the country.”

“InshaAllah, once we complete our five-year term, history will show that no other government worked as much as the PTI government did [for the development of the country].

Taking a jibe at the Opposition, the premier called out their “corruption” and said that those robbers continued saving each other by using the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) for the last 30 years.

“These three rats [opposition bigwigs] have been looting the country for three decades and these three have been trying to destabilise my government from day one,” he said.

PM Imran Khan said that it was because of former president General Musharraf that these corrupt politicians got away with their wrongdoings through the NRO. “Musharraf pushed the country into turmoil by giving NROs to these corrupt leaders just to save his own government,” he said. “Whether I lose my government or my life, I am never going to forgive them.”

He said that the Opposition vowed to send the government packing, claiming that the country was undergoing turmoil, however, he added that it was only the PTI-led government that demonstrated unprecedented performance.  The premier then recapped the achievements of his government, including how the country steered itself out of the coronavirus pandemic and how its economy remained stable while the whole world was struggling.

“I was criticised for not imposing a complete lockdown but later on, the whole world appreciated our strategy of smart lockdowns as we saved our country, our economy, and the livelihoods of the poor.”

The prime minister then talked about how the country established records in terms of economy, exports, tax collection, agriculture, remittances, and construction, among other domains. He talked about the construction of dams in the country and the resolution of water problems.

The premier then addressed the media of the country, especially news anchors, to invite economic experts so that they could assess how the government achieved targets.

The premier then talked about the construction of Ravi city, which is being constructed to save Lahore and the Ravi River and the masterplans of other cities. He also talked about the Reko Diq project and the work the government did to alleviate the condition of Balochistan.

“None of the Opposition leaders, in the past 30 years, could work on these developments.”

PM Imran Khan then said that due to “PPP’s corruption during its tenure”, the country had to pay a fine worth Rs200 billion after negotiation with
Turkey. “In this way, we helped the country get rid of that debt.”

Referring to the no-confidence motion, the premier then talked about the “conspiracy” hatched against him.

“When I had joined politics more than two decades ago, I had the resolve never to bow before anyone except for Allah,” he said. The whole world respects a person who respects himself. No one respects a disgraceful person, even if they earn billions.”

Talking about the previous government, the premier said that former leaders deviated from the path of righteousness as prescribed by Allah and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and resorted to bowing before the superpower and the International Monetary Fund.

PM Imran Khan said that the country kept receiving threats because of the actions of the previous leaders. “Governments had been changed in the country through the assistance of our own people”, he said.

He said when former premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto tried to introduce an independent economic policy for the country, at the time, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the “fugitive Nawaz Sharif” started a campaign against Bhutto.

“Bhutto had been hanged because of their conspiracies and it is a matter of shame that Zardari and Bilawal have joined hands with those [conspirators].”

He said that for months, plotting and planning were being carried out to destabilise the economy of Pakistan from the outside.