Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday made scathing attacks on the country’s army and called on the “neutrals” – the term he uses for the military establishment – and said “history will blame them for what they did to the country.”
“I want to ask the neutrals today, do you know where the country is heading?” local media outlet The Dawn quoted Khan as saying. “How can the country and economy progress when you don’t even know what will happen in the next 2-3 months,” Imran Khan, who heads the PTI party, said further.
Imran Khan coined the term ‘neutrals’ after the army said would not interfere in politics when he was ousted as the Prime Minister through a no-confidence vote in April. “No matter how many times you call yourself neutral, history will blame you for what you did with the country,” he said, hinting at the army’s lack of support for him during his removal.
The former Pak PM also warned the army to “review their policies” while there was still time. “You should review and think that there are 220 million people in this country…over 60 per cent of the population is youngsters, and they need jobs,” he was quoted as saying by the local media.
The PTI chairman also alleged that attempts were being made to disqualify him and break his party.
Khan’s latest remarks come a day after he said Pakistan is “descending into a Banana Republic” amid the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill on charges of sedition. He also termed Gill’s arrest as a conspiracy to target him, and all the leaders in his party.
Shehbaz Gill, a close aide of Imran Khan, was arrested last week in Islamabad for allegedly making controversial remarks against the Pakistan army on a private TV channel, local media outlet GeoNews reported. He was eventually booked on charges of sedition and inciting members of state institutions against the Pakistan Army.
