Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks at the start of a two-day gathering of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, at the Parliament House in Islamabad, Pakistan
Highlights
- The apex court should have looked at a threat letter before issuing its verdict,” Imran Khan said
- Khan said that he strongly believes that the judiciary is the guardian of justice in the country
- Imran Khan said no superpower can intimidate India, and the country's foreign policy
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the nation on Friday, a day ahead of the controversial no-confidence vote. The Prime Minister invoked India, and praised the nation, and said that no superpower can intimidate the country. He also stressed his allegations of 'foreign conspiracy' and added that the US officials were unhappy with his visit to Moscow.
Here are the top points from his speech
- "I respect the Supreme Court and the judiciary, but the apex court should have looked at a threat letter before issuing its verdict,” Khan said in his address – perhaps last to the nation as the prime minister of the country.
- "There was foreign interference in Pakistan's no-confidence motion. I wanted the SC to at least look at it, it was a very serious allegation that a foreign country wants to topple the government through a conspiracy. "The SC could have at least asked for and looked at the document to gauge whether we're speaking the truth. I was a bit disappointed because this is a very big issue and there was no discussion on it in the SC."
- "The youth of Pakistan is our future and if they see leaders selling their conscience, what precedent are we setting for them," he asked.
- Citing his arrest under a previous regime, Khan said that he strongly believes that the judiciary is the guardian of justice in the country, but added that he was disappointed by the court's stand on the Constitution's Article 63 (A) regarding horse-trading.
- Khan also said that in the meeting of the Pakistani Ambassador to the US with a top US official, the latter had castigated his visit to Russia. He said that the Ambassador was told that if Imran Khan is ousted, Pakistan will be spared no matter who takes the charge, and alleged that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, "who apparently has prepared his sherwani for the oath-taking ceremony", was involved in this "foreign conspiracy".
- Imran Khan said no superpower can intimidate India, and the country's foreign policy. "I know India much better than most others. No superpower can dictate India's foreign policy. It is only because of RSS ideology that there has been a breakdown in India-Pakistan ties," he said.
- Imran Khan advocated for the voting rights of Pakistanis living abroad Imran Khan urged the people to let elections decide the fate of Pakistan. He said,"We have to decide what kind of Pakistan we want"
- He stated that the media has no shame as they are celebrating the governments fall from power.
- People, not Army, can safeguard democracy. Come in front of people and announce elections. Opposition, steeped in corruption, want to see me out of power to bury cases against them. I am ready for struggle: Imran Khan
- He attacked the Opposition and said that they are willing to rig the next elections. He said the Opposition leaders will remove legal cases against them once they come to power.
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