While addressing a public gathering in the Lower Dir district on Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said, “Humans act according to their conscience. And only animals remain neutral,” referring to the Army’s neutral stance on the upcoming trust vote.
#BREAKING: Open war breaks out between Pakistan Army & Imran Khan Niazi. Niazi compares Pakistan Army with “Janwar” (animal). Says, an animal can be neutral, not human being. Animals can’t distinguish between good or bad. Pak Army had said they are neutral.pic.twitter.com/q1N9FbJb0A
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) March 11, 2022
Khan said he is confident of emerging victorious in the vote of no-confidence and of bringing down opposition leaders Asif Ali Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif, and Fazlur Rehman at once. He has also accused opposition leaders of offering up to $1 million to Members of the National Assembly (MNA) vote against him.
DG ISPR Press Conference - 10 March 2022 https://t.co/W5HTbFll3V
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) March 10, 2022
Last week, opposition parties officially submitted a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly Secretariat, accusing the PM of mismanaging the economy and of poor governance. The opposition, whose request requires Khan to gather support for a parliamentary vote of confidence, needs a simple majority of 172 to pass the motion. Sources within the opposition allege that they are confident of gaining the support of at least 202 MNAs.
Khan had previously asserted that the Pakistani armed forces were on his side and that they would “never support thieves.” However, on Thursday, when Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major General Babar Iftikhar was questioned about the upcoming parliamentary vote, he clarified that the Army has “nothing to do with politics” and requested the media to refrain from such “unnecessary speculations.”
The PM also criticised Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) chief Rehman for claiming to “fix” Pakistani institutions, which Khan said was a reference to the Pakistani Army. In this regard, he said that Pakistan already has the “most powerful army in the Muslim world,” due to which it has avoided crises such as those faced by Somalia, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Khan’s statement came just a day after the police barged into the parliamentary lodges and arrested 19 JUIF MNAs. Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid claimed that the arrested JUIF workers were members of a “private militia” and had “beat[en] and locked up police officials.”
Scenes from the Parliament lodges pic.twitter.com/KjZaopAxRS
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) March 10, 2022
Rehman called the arrests an attempt by the police to “abduct” members of his party and called on his party workers to gather in Islamabad to protect their MNAs. He also asked party members to block roads and shut down businesses to protest against the arrests. Furthermore, he highlighted the disrespectful language used by Khan, which he said showed that he is incapable of leading the country.
Along these same lines, Sharif and Rehman urged the PM to reconsider his agenda of targeting the opposition.
Similarly, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chair and former President Asif Ali Zardari accused the “puppet Prime Minister” of “harassing” and terrorising MNAs. Co-chair Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, too, called the police operation “proof” of Khan’s “nervousness,” and condemned what he described as “dictatorial acts.”