ISLAMABAD - Denouncing the American announcement of a bounty on Hafiz Saeed’s head, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has said that he could not be held guilty until charges against him are proved in the court of law.
“If someone has solid proofs against Hafiz, he/she should go to court. The manner in which the US announced him as most wanted is totally wrong. He is innocent unless proven guilty,” Khan said while addressing a news conference here at the party’s central secretariat - where Tashfeen Safdar - the granddaughter of the former President of Pakistan Chaudhry Fazal Elahi - announced to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Imran Khan also questioned the political process that was supposed to be initiated by the Pakistani political forces as per recommendations of All Parties Conference - where it was decided to hold negotiations with Pakistani Taliban by parting ways with the US in the ongoing war on terror.
“All the political forces have double standards on the issue of resumption of Nato supplies route, while the government just wants better returns in terms of finance,” he said.
Criticising Maulana Fazlur Rehman - chief of his own faction of JUI - Imran Khan said that he (Maulana) was the person responsible for massive killings in tribal areas during the regime of Pervaiz Musharraf.
“Today, the Maulana has taken a stern stance on the issue of resumption of Nato routes but being part of the government in KPK province during the Musharraf regime he is responsible for killings of hundreds of innocent tribesmen during this period.”
The head of PTI - a party that was under the spotlight until the retirement of former ISI chief and nowadays is experiencing isolation from the main scene - further said that currently he was not weighing the option of announcement of civil disobedience across the country as it could result in the fall of incumbent democratic set-up.
“If PTI goes for civil disobedience, the critics will say the attempt is aimed to derail democratic process in the country. However, if in near future the situation continues to deteriorate we will be left with no other option but to do so,” Khan said.
Appreciating the Apex Court for hearing Mehran Bank scandal, he requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan that he should broaden the scope of investigations into the issue to unveil the faces of other ISI-backed politicians.
He claimed that public gathering at PTI’s scheduled rally in Quetta would be enough for those who are talking about sinking popularity of PTI.