Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday said the Pakistani nation would teach a lesson to those traitors in the general elections who tried to topple an elected government that was pursuing an independent foreign policy.
Addressing a gathering of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers here, he said the people of the country will teach a lesson to these traitors (opposition leaders) in the next general elections by burying their politics forever. The prime minister, referring to his main political opponents, said the three stooges had been plundering the national wealth for the last 30 years and stashed it abroad. “They can say that beggars are not choosers,” owing to their vested personal interests, he added.
“A drama had been staged in the country. In a local hotel of Lahore, PTI’s defectors, who had sold their party allegiance, were put together. With such shabby tactics, the democracy, future of the coming generations and solidarity of the nation had been put at stake,” he added.
The prime minister said the people had been elected on PTI tickets or the reserved seats and then sold out their conscience for the sake of a few million rupees, adding that they would ensure a life-time ban for such traitors.
Such elements were traitors to the nation, to the country and to the coming generations, he said, adding unless they were punished, they would continue bargaining over the democracy for petty monetary gains.
The prime minister said with such a trend, any foreign country could purchase the loyalties of lawmakers and topple an elected government. He resolved that they would fully confront them legally. The case was taken up by the Supreme Court.
“All those are traitors who have played a part in the foreign conspiracy,” he added. The prime minister said the entire nation would resist such trends as it was a defining moment, and would not let the conspiracy succeed as it had periled the country’s future and democracy.
The prime minister also called upon his party workers to stage daily but peaceful protests against the traitors, and informed that on Tuesday night, he would be attending a protest gathering at the F-9 Park in Islamabad.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday asked his party to accelerate preparations for elections, as he vowed to push for a two-thirds majority this time to void any blackmailing from others. He observed this while presiding over a parliamentary board meeting of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf here, which discussed the electoral prospects following the dissolution of the National Assembly and the strategy on how to award party tickets, ensuring merit and party loyalty.
Party sources said that Imran made it clear to the party leaders, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Pervaiz Khattak, Shafqat Mehmood and Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, that the party’s popularity was increasing with each passing day and the recent local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and public meetings in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could be cited as example on this count.
The PTI, he contended, was the only federal level party, having roots in all the corners of the country unlike the PPP and PML-N, which were confined to a few districts of Sindh and Punjab. “Their recent conduct will further hurt them in elections,” he maintained.
He emphasised that all the concerned should devise plans and strategies for award of party tickets for the next elections and coming up with the best possible candidates, who were loyal and committed to the party and not greedy and compromising for personal gains.
The prime minister directed the PTI provincial presidents to complete the process of receiving applications from those, aspiring to contest in the elections. “This time, we will award tickets to those who have been selflessly serving the party and stood with it through thick and thick,” he was quoted as telling the parliamentary board.
