PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan has expressed the fearthat he could be attacked again in the near future.
In an interview with FRANCE 24, Imran Khan reacted to the November 3assassination attempt against him at a protest rally in Wazirabad, duringwhich he was shot in the leg.
Officially, the gunman is believed to have acted alone, but Imran Khan saidhe suspected the assailant was merely a decoy serving the interests of astate-level conspiracy.
He directly accused current top Pakistani government leaders, saying theyfeel threatened by his party’s popularity in view of the next elections inthe country.
Imran Khan also said he feared he could be attacked again in the nearfuture: “They think that the only way to get me out of the way is actually[to] eliminate me. So, I think that there is a threat, still.”
Imran Khan told FRANCE 24 he was convinced that the recent attack on himwas an assassination plot hatched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, theinterior minister and a senior intelligence officer. He claimed that thesuspect arrested was merely a decoy and that there was another gunman atthe rally in the eastern city of Wazirabad.
Imran Khan said he only trusted the chief justice of Pakistan to conduct anindependent investigation, arguing that any other probe would be sabotagedby the interior minister.
“There is no way of me getting proper justice if these three people remainin their seats,” he added.
Read Top Stories
The former premier said he feared further attempts on his life but vowed torejoin the anti-government march. He said he would take “more precautions”but vowed to carry on regardless of the risks, insisting that the protestmarch would remain peaceful. He said the only solution was free and fairelections, stressing that his party was certain to win them.
To a question, Imran Khan denied having backtracked on his claim that hewas toppled as part of a collusion between the US and the Pakistani elite.He stressed there was indeed evidence that the US administration wanted tooust him, saying that a diplomatic cable proved his claim and that theissue was now in the hands of the chief justice. However, he said he didn’twant to go against the interests of the people of Pakistan by antagonisinga superpower.
Responding to a question, Imran Khan said that a press conference by theInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief was ‘unadvisable’. “I don’t want todamage my institutions because Pakistan needs a strong Army. The pressconference was very unadvisable,” he said and added that the ISI chiefshould not be conducting a news conference.
Imran Khan said that if he responded to the press conference point bypoint, the Army’s institution would be undermined, adding that he does notwish to do so as Pakistan needed a strong defence.
The PTI chief said that he believed the press conference was also areaction to the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif, who, accordingto him, was presenting his point of view. “He [Arshad Sharif] had beenthreatened with death after which he left the country and was laterassassinated in Kenya,” he said.
Imran claimed that after the murder, there were a “huge public backlash”and people cast fingers at the establishment, adding that the pressconference was more to appease the public perception.