Rana Sanaullah links peace with Imran’s removal from politics.

LAHORE: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan has said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan has steered his political rivalry to the point of enmity where “either we will maintain our existence or he,” fearing that the PTI chairman could lead the nation and the country to some tragedy if people did not oust him from politics through their voting power.

In an interview with a private TV channel, the minister, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, described the ex-PM as “incorrigible” and “incurable,” and stated that peace could not be guaranteed until Mr Khan returned to the political scene.

He also stated unequivocally that if they (his party) discovered that they were being eliminated (from politics), they would go to any length to save themselves, regardless of the merits or demerits of their actions, whether democratic or undemocratic, principled or unprincipled.

“Either he or we will be eliminated from the political arena now.” Only Imran is to blame for bringing us to this point,” the interior minister said, adding that Mr Khan was to blame for the country’s anarchic state. He told the interviewer that they saw him (Imran) as a political rival, but the PTI chairman saw them as arch-enemies.

Mr Khan “even blamed me, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and an army officer for plotting to kill him,” Mr Sanaullah said, fearing that the PTI chief’s narrative was inciting resentment among supporters of both parties and that he or they could be killed (by supporters of the opposing party).

In response to a question, the minister stated that if Mr Khan were elected, he intended to use his presidential powers to appoint retired judges from the subordinate judiciary as presiding officers of special courts such as anti-narcotics courts, which would hand down “capital punishment or life terms to political rivals.”

If anyone had any doubts abt Rana Sana's murderous intent towards Imran Khan, this is a direct threat given by cabal of crooks Interior Minister. Judiciary should take note. pic.twitter.com/pu2OffYL5W

— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) March 26, 2023

Also, Mr Khan and former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had disagreements over “eliminating the then opposition” by hook or crook, the PML-N leader recalled.

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In response to a question, he stated that Mr Khan had been attempting to “set fire to the country” for the past 11 months, but the coalition government had always exercised restraint in order to prevent the situation from worsening.

Meanwhile, Marriyum Aurangzeb, the firebrand PML-N leader and information minister, addressing a press conference, chastised Mr Khan for announcing a 10-point agenda that she claimed only demonstrated his party’s failure during its 10-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and four-year rule in both Punjab and the centre.

Referring to his changing narratives and conspiracy theories behind his ouster from power corridors, the PML-N leader said Mr Khan would fabricate a new story only to divert attention of the people from the falsehood of his previous tale, adding that his only problem was ‘psychological’.

She claimed that the PTI chief wanted to be ‘elected’ again in order to save his skin in the cases of prohibited funding to his party, Toshakhana gifts, and Tyrian Khan.

He would not have forced the National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker to violate the constitution while facing a no-confidence motion, nor would he have dissolved the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Imran Khan should be slapped ten times for giving a 10-point plan, not a single point of which he could implement during his (party’s) 10-year rule in KP and four-year rule in both Islamabad and Punjab,” she said, referring to his 10-point roadmap.

She remarked that Mr Khan should improve the national economy in the same way that he had improved the financial situation of his wife and her friend Farhat Shehzadi.

Concerning housing, the minister stated that the PTI chief had fulfilled his pledge to the nation by constructing “five million houses for his spouse,” who accepted a Rs5 billion “bribe” in the name of Al-Qadir Trust.

In terms of money laundering, she claimed the former prime minister used private jets to transport stolen funds out of the country. She remarked that if the prohibited funding case decision had been implemented, the threat of money laundering could have been addressed.

She claimed that Mr Khan’s much-touted promise of 10 million jobs had resulted in the unemployment of over 10 million Pakistanis.

In response to a question about the leaked audio recording of former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, Ms Aurangzeb stated that the language he allegedly used against PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz Sharif in the audio reflected his upbringing.

Concerning the massive inflation, the minister stated that the country’s economy was not a machine that could be turned on, but that it would take time to rebuild the national economy, which had been devastated by the PTI government.

She claimed Mr Khan tried to hide behind excuses such as a fractured leg, old age, and threats to his life for failing to appear in court in cases against him, despite the fact that no such excuse barred him from attending the public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan.

She claimed that the PTI chief had exhausted all other options and that the only option left to him was to raise the issue of an alleged threat to his life for failing to appear in court in cases against him.