Three stooges working with foreign powers want to oust me, will fight till end: Imran Khan
Islamabad/IBNS: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is on the verge of losing his post after failing to prove a majority in the assembly, on Thursday urged the youth of the nation to not "crawl like ants" and alleged that "three stooges" working with foreign powers want to oust him of power.
He also vowed to fight till the end, saying: "Allah has given my strength to fight and I will. I have come here after a lot of struggle."
Starting his address, he said: "I want the youth to listen to me carefully. When Allah has given you wings, why are acting like acts on grounds? God has given us the level of an angel."
"We worship fear. We worship money. We humans act like ants. I've seen the ups and downs of Pakistan. When I was in school, good examples of Pakistan were given to countries. South Korea also has come to Pakistan. But I've also seen it come down," he added.
Khan, who was a famous cricketer, said he chose to enter politics to "realise the vision of our founders".
The PTI leader virtually lost majority in the 342-member National Assembly after defection of two key allies.
The resolution against Khan was tabled by the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on March 28 and it was approved for debate the very same day.
In Khan's address Thursday evening, he also noted the possibilities of growth for Pakistan as a nation.
"Pakistan has reached a "defining moment" in its history. Pakistan is only 5 years older than me, I'm from the first generation of the country to be born after independence," he said.
"As a child, I remember Pakistan rising to the top. South Korea had come to Pakistan to learn how did we progress, Malaysian princes used to study with me in school. Middle East used to come to our universities. I've seen all this sinking, seen my country getting insulted," Khan said in his speech.
The former cricketer said he had a lot of friends in India and the US. "I don't have any ill wills against anyone. I just condemn their policies," he added.
"We were told if we don't back US, they will turn on us like a wounded bear. During 9/11, we said that if there's a terror incident in the US, we should help them but that wasn't our war to fight," the Pakistan PM said.
"People said that we are US's collaborators. So many Pakistanis sacrificed their lives, did anyone thank us for that? Did anyone say Shukriya, Pakistan? So many people died in drone attacks, 80 people died after an attack in a madrasa. After becoming the Prime Minister, I decided that our policy won't be against anyone," he asserted.
Speaking on ties with India, Khan said: "Our only contention with India is when they broke international law in Kashmir."
"We are getting messages from some foreign countries. This is against our people. They say that they will forgive Pakistan if Imran Khan goes. But it says, if they fail to oust me, Pakistan will have to face difficult circumstances. It says if Imran Khan remains the PM, Pakistan's ties with them will sour and the nation will have to face difficulties."
Alleging conspiracy, he went on to say: "Three stooges are sitting here working with foreign powers. They want Imran Khan to be ousted and want this certain person to take this place and everything will be fine then. But do you want someone charged with fraud to lead you?"
"If you think that your conspiracy will be successful, I want to tell you, I will fight with this. They can't do anything. I bear my own expenses, I live in my own houses, I don't have any factories," he said.
Khan said he always wanted an independent foreign policy.
"When you can't question who's bombing your country, what's your credibility? I am not against anyone. But my 22 crore people are my priority. So, Shehbaz Sharif says that I shouldn't have said "absolutely not", where were you when there were attacks on the country," he said.
Defending himself, the Pakistan PM said "A lot of people said that this document is fake. I showed it to the cabinet, Parliament, senior journalists. There are more dangerous things in it, the things I haven't told you about."
On Wednesday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Prime Minister Imran Khan had decided to present a 'secret letter' — purportedly containing details of a "foreign conspiracy" to topple his government — during an in-camera session of the NA or a joint session of parliament.
Khan hopes that after becoming aware of the alleged letter's contents, his party dissidents, as well as disgruntled allies, would change their minds to vote in favour of the no-trust resolution.
On Wednesday, Khan had shared the letter with the cabinet members in a hurriedly called meeting, which was not attended by its two major allies — Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) — despite being invited.
He also called a selected group of TV anchors and informed them that "the language of the letter was threatening and arrogant" and that Pakistan would face dire consequences if the no-confidence motion failed.
Following the premier's decision to show the letter to parliamentarians, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Thursday summoned a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
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