Asif Zardari among those planning to kill me: Imran Khan

LAHORE: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has alleged that former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was among four people who were planning to kill him, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to details, the former premier made these remarks while addressing a press conference over the country’s economic situation, predicting ‘more economic challenges’ in days to come.

Imran Khan accused PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari of being involved in the assassination attempt, saying that the former president was among four people who were planning to kill him.

“Asif Zardari has given Sindh government’s money to a terrorist organization to assassinate me,” the PTI chief alleged, adding that they were using Sindh government’s ‘looted money’ against him.

He further said, “They think that the only way to get me out of the way is actually to eliminate,” believing that efforts were underway to save those ‘four people’.

Earlier in the day, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed claimed that former president Asif Ali Zardari has hired a “group of terrorists” to target PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

“Asif Ali Zardari is planning to target Imran Khan,” he claimed, adding that plans were being made to “assassinate” former prime minister Imran Khan.

It is pertinent to mention here that Imran Khan and several other PTI leaders were wounded in an assassination attempt after a man opened fire near the PTI reception camp in Wazirabad during party’s long march.

Speaking of the Wazirabad attack, the former premier said he already knew about the bid to assassinate him. “I informed the public about the attempt and a recorded video, which consists the names of all those who conspired against me,” he said.

“They backtracked from their attempt and went for a Plan B – in which they tried to kill me in the name of religious extremism,” he said, adding that that plan also failed.

Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest

Imran Khan also criticized the federal government for treating his party leaders as traitors, saying that the ‘fascist governments’ comprised of their worst enemies were treating them as traitors rather than political opponents.

He regretted that PTI leaders Fawad Chaudhary and Azam Swati had been subjected to treatment which is usually reserved for hardened criminals and traitors.

“Such a treatment was being meted out to those who are raising their voice against the incumbent rulers,” he claimed, adding that almost 70 first information reports (FIRs) have been lodged against him as if he was some traitor.

Economic situation

The PTI Chairman lambasted the government over country’s economic situation, where the value of the Pakistani rupee had plummeted while the foreign exchange reserves had also fallen to dangerous levels.

Imran noted that in such a situation, financing will only be offered on terms which could have a direct impact on Pakistan’s national security. “In Sri Lanka and Egypt, when they sought financing in such a situation, they were told to cut their military expenses by half,” he said.

The former premier noted that Pakistan’s national security too could be compromised as the country’s economy falters while raising taxes to astronomical levels in a bid to stabilize the economy.

He regretted that the US dollar gained Rs84 in the first nine months of Shehbaz Sharif led government compared to around Rs30 in his three and a half years. “PTI government left the foreign reserves at $16.4 billion which has now fallen to just $3.6 billion,” he noted.

Imran Khan further claimed that the Consumer Price Index was 12% when he left and could rise to an unprecedented 35%. The Sensitive Price Index was 16%, but now it would reach to up to 50%.

He said services industry performed well after 17 years under the PTI regime and that they managed to create 5 million jobs, but every single industry was being hit hard today due to the misaligned policies of the Shehbaz Sharif government.