Imran attacks war on terror

LAHORE The ongoing war on terror poses a serious threat to the country as it is providing the enemies with an opportunity to advance their interests, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan says. In an interview to Nawa-i-Waqt on Wednesday, he said in this war Pakistan had suffered a loss of $70 billion, but it had been given an assistance of only $20 billion, which too remained un-accounted for.Imran Khan said that 35,000 Pakistanis had lost their lives in the war, for which 140,000 troops had been deployed at various places. About the present rulers, the PTI chief said people had lost confidence in them and in future they would not let the looters guised as politicians make a mockery of their mandate. He said those with foreign passports and nationalities could not be expected to think for their people. People, Imran Khan said, were facing floods, dengue virus, corruption, lawlessness, unemployment and inflation, but the rulers were more interested in their publicity campaign or their visits abroad. Also, he said, corrupt and tax-dodging rulers could not be expected to hold others accountable or recover tax. He alleged that the rulers went abroad either for signing agreements or shopping at Harrodds, the famous store in London of Mohammad Al-Fayed, an Egyptian national. He urged Mr Al-Fayed to open a store in Pakistan so that the rulers here stayed in the country. He said it was regrettable that Asif Ali Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif spent most of their time abroad, after which they were left with no time for their people. Referring to the acute energy crisis facing the country, the PTI chief said load shedding was not the solution. In fact, he said corruption and mismanagement in oil and gas companies should be plugged. He claimed that the situation was conducive for a change in the country, which would be brought about by the PTI with the support of the younger generation. The youth, he said, would run the country in the future, the PTI, he said, did not believe in hollow slogans. It would stem tax evasion, uproot corruption and make Pakistan a sovereign state in true sense. I have never begged and will not like the nation to do so, said Imran Khan, pledging that he would not compromise on the countrys self-respect even if the nation had to starve as a consequence. He said the PTI would promote industrialization and create so many job opportunities that even Pakistanis living abroad would prefer to return home and work here. Women, he committed, would be given equal opportunities to work shoulder-to-shoulder with men and right to justice, education and inheritance. My first and last ray of hope is the younger generation of the country, said the former cricketer-turned-politician, urging his supporters to visit every nook and corner of the country with a message of a 'new Pakistan.