Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday alleged that four individuals were conspiring to assassinate him on charges of blasphemy, warning that the names of these conspirators will be revealed to the nation if anything untoward happens to him.
Addressing a rally in Mianwali in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders were accusing him of committing blasphemy in a bid to incite religious hatred against him. “What was the game behind this [allegation]… four individuals sitting behind closed doors decided to get me killed over blasphemy allegations,” Khan alleged.
He announced that a video containing the names of the ‘conspirators’ will be released if anything happened to him. “If I get killed then they will say a religious fanatic killed him [Imran] because he had committed blasphemy,” he said.
“The nation will not forgive these conspirators,” he warned. This is not the first instance that Khan has claimed that his life is in peril. Over 250 personnel from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Frontier Constabulary and Pakistan Rangers are deployed to ensure Khan’s security, Islamabad IG Akbar Nasir Khan said in September.
Khan’s latest revelations come when the third alleged audio of Khan surfaced on Friday, featuring him trying to buy the loyalties of lawmakers and also justifying his action before he was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April. The two other audio clips, leaked last month, have three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders talking about the American cypher with Khan, the party chairman.
The former premier asked his party workers to prepare for the Azadi March, adding that his planning for the protest was well-thought. Khan on Monday had asked his party workers to prepare for a mega protest later this week to press for the dissolution of the National Assembly and announce fresh elections in the country.
ALSO READ | Pakistan government to call out army if Imran Khan calls for march in Islamabad
ALSO READ | Pakistan: Arrest warrant issued against Imran Khan in Islamabad for remarks against session judge
