Recognising Israel means compromising Pakistan’s ideology: Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks as chief guest at an event, which was held to introduce international car manufacturers to Pakistan.–Photo courtesy Imran Khan's Instagram account

Prime Minister Imran Khan made it clear once again on Friday that Pakistan would not recognise Israel in any case.

In an interview to a private news channel, Khan said that recognising Israel would be tantamount to compromising Pakistan’s ideology.

Khan denied the reports that he ever said his party was not prepared to run the country after its victory in the 2018 general elections. Who would have done accountability, he asked, if he had made a coalition with the parties, which are currently in opposition. He reiterated that opposition parties’ anti-government movement under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was aimed at securing relief from the government. He said that some people were saying about the federal government led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that it was going to fall soon. He said the opposition parties celebrated the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan in the hope that it would keep the government busy and away from them.

SUGAR MAFIA

In response to a question, Khan said he was the prime minister of the masses, not the elite class. He said that he would take action if corruption charges are levelled against any of his cabinet members. He said he was first the prime minister in Pakistan’s history to take action against the sugar mafia. He said that cases against Jahangir Khan Tareen, the business tycoon who has a major share in Pakistan’s sugar industry and was considered the most trusted aide of the prime minister until recently, would be decided on merit. Corrupt leadership destroys the country, he said. He said the family of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was the number one sugar mafia in Pakistan. He said that Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and their ministers set up their own sugar mills.

Khan said that one would have to make compromises at some point in life to achieve his goals, but he would never forgive the opposition parties for their corruption. He said you might have to make compromises in your lives, but your intentions should be good and you should make these compromises only to achieve your goals. He however said he would not make a compromise on corruption in any case. He said a corrupt prime minister could not stop his ministers from doing corruption.

NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Answering a question from the interviewer, the prime minister said his government would not interfere in affairs of the national institutions. He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was an independent and sovereign institution and nobody would interfere in its affairs. “Was it I who asked the NAB to put my party men Aleem Khan and Sibtain in jail?” he asked. He said the NAB did not arrest Aleem and Sibtain even during the Nawaz regime; they were arrested in PTI’s government. He said that 95 percent of the cases pending with the NAB were not framed by the ruling PTI.

About the arrest of Khawaja Muhammad Asif, former defence minister and a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Khan said he was receiving funds from Dubai. He said that Khawaja Asif had been doing a job in Dubai and working as minister in Pakistan at the same time. He said that Khawaja Asif was holding an iqama at that time and it was just meant for money laundering. He said he knew that iqama was being used for money laundering. He said the three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif abused his power and committed corruption of billions of rupees. He said that Nawaz Sharif’s sons don’t like to be called Pakistani citizens and they own properties worth billions of rupees. He said it was the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which made cases against each other.

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