'Pakistan is walking towards its doom': Imran Khan calls May 9 vandalism a 'propaganda'

On Saturday, former Pakistan PM and PTI chief Imran Khan gave an impromptu address to the nation from his Zaman Park residence and talked about the vandalism following his arrest on May 9. In the address, the cricketer-turned-politician lambasted the current Pakistan administration and pointed out how 25 unarmed protestors lost their lives in the midst of the mayhem. The former PM stated that the law and order in the country is in shambles and Pakistan is currently operating on the laws of the jungle. He added that Pakistan is "walking towards its doom".

“No one from the government is talking about 25 of our people being martyred [during protests]. None of them were armed and they were shot. Is there no value in human life in this country?” Khan asserted. The PTI chief made it clear that he told the Pakistani Chief Justice that he condemned the violence that erupted following his arrest. “When the chief justice asked me about [May 9 vandalism], I told him I strongly condemn this and that I never allowed my supporters to do anything beyond peaceful protest,” he added.

He then went on to call the May 9 vandalism a “organised propaganda” and stated that the whole narrative is one-sided.  

Khan on the ‘One-sided propaganda’

He further slammed the ruling Pakistani administration and described the mayhem as “one-sided propaganda”. “An organised propaganda is being carried out — there was an organised conspiracy, which was planned to eliminate the PTI. Because the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) knows they cannot beat PTI in elections. So a conspiracy and plan were devised to ban the party by blaming the party [for May 9 vandalism],” Khan asserted. 

He stated that the PTI was not given a chance to even explain its stance on the riots. “They caught me, then suspended internet services and controlled the entire media. And soon after, one-sided propaganda of the PTI’s [alleged] atrocities was being played out in the controlled media. They did not give us a chance to present our stance. They put everyone in jail,” he added.

Khan made it clear if any evidence emerged that the PTI workers were involved in the vandalism then they should be punished. “If a photograph emerges of any PTI worker breaking the law or setting things on fire, tell us. We will tell them to appear before the court, we will ask for them to be punished,” The PTI chief exclaimed. He also pointed at the brutality faced by the women in the country. “Women were never subjected to such cruelty as was witnessed this time. They planned and disrespected women,” Khan asserted.  

Imran Khan calls Pakistan a ‘Banana Republic’

Continuing his scathing attack against the Pakistan administration, Khan called the conflict-stricken country, the Banana Republic. “People have lost hope, they can see the country marching towards destruction. This is called the Banana Republic,” Khan stated. However, the cricketing legend made it clear that Judiciary is the “only hope”. “Presently, there is no law in the country. Our only hope is the judiciary. And the judiciary and judges are under immense pressure not to give us relief,” Khan exclaimed. When it comes to the postponement of the election in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khan asserted that the country’s constitution was violated. “Pakistan’s Constitution has been violated. They did not hold the elections [in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]. These caretaker governments are now illegal, all their orders are illegal. So Pakistan is now being run on the [basis of] doctrine of necessity,” he concluded.