Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, has warned that former prime minister Imran Khan is a “bigger threat” to the nation than Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The explosive comments were made on-air while Asif was speaking to a journalist on a Pakistani TV channel, “Your foreign enemy is known to you. In Pakistan, the people are still unable to identify the enemy who was born here and is a bigger threat than the enemy from that nation (India).”
Imran Khan’s arrest
Khan, who is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, is currently facing a myriad of issues. Nationwide protests were triggered by his arrest on May 9 for suspected graft.
Pakistan was already facing an economic crisis and is now drowning deep in political turmoil as Khan’s party witnesses a countrywide crackdown.
After Khan’s arrest, his party workers vandalised over 20 military installations and government buildings, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad.
The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time. Khan was later released on bail. Law enforcement agencies have arrested over 10,000 workers of Khan’s party from across Pakistan, with 4,000 of them from Punjab province.
Meanwhile, Khan denies any wrongdoing and labels the arrest as politically motivated. Recently, dozens of top and mid-tier leaders in the PTI have been arrested, alongside hundreds of Khan supporters. Many have even quit the party after being released, while other leaders remain on the run to avoid arrest.
Khan is a ‘bigger threat’
Pakistan’s defence minister said, “Imran Khan is more dangerous for Pakistan than Narendra Modi and people are not able to see this.” Asif added, “He is present among us. Who is more dangerous? One who is among us or the one standing in front of you on the other side?”
Asif said that the violent protests across Pakistan were a “mutiny”. He said, “This enemy is actually a bigger threat to our security and May 9 is proof of that. It was rebellion. It was a mutiny.”
Watch the video here:
In a tweet, the party tweeted, “Shameful how the regime doesn’t stop their fascism. The inflation has skyrocketed to 38%, and their response is arresting former CM Punjab Parvez Elahi. Absolutely ridiculous!” PTI also shared a video in which the 77-year-old leader was seen being dragged by security personnel from his residence.
Source : Wion News
