LONDON: Imran Khan has said he wants to mend relations with the United States if re-elected and no longer blames his removal as Pakistan The prime minister, apparently turned his back after accusing Washington of orchestrating his ouster by supporting the opposition’s no-confidence movement at the time.
Khan, 70, who was ousted in April in a vote of no confidence has claimed he was the result of a conspiracy between the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the United States, a top security partner of Pakistan, has given the country billions of dollars in military aid.
He has stated that the opposition’s move of no confidence against him is the result of a foreign conspiracy because of his independent foreign policy towards Islamabad’s relations with countries like China and Russia and funds were transferred from abroad to oust him from power.
In an interview with the Financial Times following an assassination attempt this month, Khan said he no longer “blames” the US and wants a “proper” relationship if re-elected.
He told the British financial newspaper of the alleged conspiracy, which Prime Minister Shehbaz also said: “As far as I know it’s over, it’s behind me. Sharif and the US denied it.
Khan has claimed that Donald Lu, the top US official in charge of South Asia in the US state department, is involved in a ‘foreign plot’ to overthrow his government.
“The Pakistan that I want to lead must have a good relationship with everyone, especially the United States.
“Our relationship with the United States was a master-slave, or master-slave relationship, and we were used as a mercenary gun. But for that, I blame my government more than the United States,” the newspaper quoted Khan as saying.
Khan, the chairman of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was wounded in his right leg earlier this month when two gunmen fired a volley of bullets at him and others standing on a container truck in the area. area. Wazirabad area, where he is leading the march against the government.
Khan blamed Prime Minister Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal Naseer for hatching a plot to assassinate him.
The former cricket politician turned to say early elections are the only way to restore political stability. He did not outline specific plans for the economy if he returned to power but warned “that could be beyond anyone’s ability” if elections are not held soon.
Khan accused the military of previously undermining independent institutions and, along with political dynasties like the Sharif family, of acting as if “they were above the law”.
“The Army can play a constructive role in my future plans for Pakistan,” he said. “But it has to be that balance. You can’t have an elected government with accountability given to it by the people, while the authority lies elsewhere.”
Khan also criticized Pakistan International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was first started under his government in 2019 but revived by Sharif, for promoting austerity measures such as fuel price hikes at a time of severe inflation.
In July, the IMF reached a preliminary staff-level agreement during its seventh and eighth combined review of a $6 billion loan to Pakistan.
The deal paved the way for the disbursement of a long-awaited $1.17 billion loan tranche earlier this year.
“When you shrink your economy, and some of the IMF measures make your economy shrink, how do you pay off your loans, because your loans keep increasing?” he say. “Consumption has fallen… So my question is: How are we going to pay off debt? We will definitely move towards default.”
Critics accuse Khan of continuing to jeopardize this economic outlook by damaging relations with the US, IMF and other international partners on which Pakistan depends for financing.
Khan acknowledged that a visit to Moscow the day before the February invasion of Ukraine – for which he claimed the US had retaliated against him – was “embarrassing” but said the trip had been organized months in advance.
Khan, 70, who was ousted in April in a vote of no confidence has claimed he was the result of a conspiracy between the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the United States, a top security partner of Pakistan, has given the country billions of dollars in military aid.
He has stated that the opposition’s move of no confidence against him is the result of a foreign conspiracy because of his independent foreign policy towards Islamabad’s relations with countries like China and Russia and funds were transferred from abroad to oust him from power.
In an interview with the Financial Times following an assassination attempt this month, Khan said he no longer “blames” the US and wants a “proper” relationship if re-elected.
He told the British financial newspaper of the alleged conspiracy, which Prime Minister Shehbaz also said: “As far as I know it’s over, it’s behind me. Sharif and the US denied it.
Khan has claimed that Donald Lu, the top US official in charge of South Asia in the US state department, is involved in a ‘foreign plot’ to overthrow his government.
“The Pakistan that I want to lead must have a good relationship with everyone, especially the United States.
“Our relationship with the United States was a master-slave, or master-slave relationship, and we were used as a mercenary gun. But for that, I blame my government more than the United States,” the newspaper quoted Khan as saying.
Khan, the chairman of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was wounded in his right leg earlier this month when two gunmen fired a volley of bullets at him and others standing on a container truck in the area. area. Wazirabad area, where he is leading the march against the government.
Khan blamed Prime Minister Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal Naseer for hatching a plot to assassinate him.
The former cricket politician turned to say early elections are the only way to restore political stability. He did not outline specific plans for the economy if he returned to power but warned “that could be beyond anyone’s ability” if elections are not held soon.
Khan accused the military of previously undermining independent institutions and, along with political dynasties like the Sharif family, of acting as if “they were above the law”.
“The Army can play a constructive role in my future plans for Pakistan,” he said. “But it has to be that balance. You can’t have an elected government with accountability given to it by the people, while the authority lies elsewhere.”
Khan also criticized Pakistan International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was first started under his government in 2019 but revived by Sharif, for promoting austerity measures such as fuel price hikes at a time of severe inflation.
In July, the IMF reached a preliminary staff-level agreement during its seventh and eighth combined review of a $6 billion loan to Pakistan.
The deal paved the way for the disbursement of a long-awaited $1.17 billion loan tranche earlier this year.
“When you shrink your economy, and some of the IMF measures make your economy shrink, how do you pay off your loans, because your loans keep increasing?” he say. “Consumption has fallen… So my question is: How are we going to pay off debt? We will definitely move towards default.”
Critics accuse Khan of continuing to jeopardize this economic outlook by damaging relations with the US, IMF and other international partners on which Pakistan depends for financing.
Khan acknowledged that a visit to Moscow the day before the February invasion of Ukraine – for which he claimed the US had retaliated against him – was “embarrassing” but said the trip had been organized months in advance.
