RAW had Altaf's posters pasted in India: Imran

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RAW had Altaf's posters pasted in India: Imran

 

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday said that he still remembered when he was in India in 2003 in connection with a conference arranged by the Hindustan Times, there were posters of Altaf Hussain along the way from the airport to the venue of the conference and he could testify on oath that the Hindustan Times reporter told him that RAW directed them to paste these posters.

He said that Altaf Hussain told the event that the biggest injustice ever committed in the Subcontinent was the creation of Pakistan.

He sought probe into the allegations leveled by former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal against the top leadership of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) through an independent commission.

He also took exception to the assertions of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif against the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and urged the national watchdog to initiate investigation into the projects being executed on “exorbitant rates” in the Punjab.

Imran Khan was addressing a press conference at the Chief Minister’s House where PTI leaders including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information Mushtaq Ghani and provincial ministers Muhammad Atif and Shah Farman were also present.

Responding to the question about the allegations against MQM and its leadership, he reminded that he was the first Pakistani who said seven years ago that Altaf Hussain was the biggest murderer in this country.

He said, “Today everybody is saying that there is RAW’s involvement ….the question arises here whether it is possible in India for a party to run for just two hours if it is blamed for taking funding from ISI. I challenge that no party can exist for two hours in India if it is accused of taking funds from ISI.” 

Imran Khan argued that Mustafa Kamal remained a credible leader of the MQM and was mentioned as Altaf’s successor in the party. He felt it carried a lot of weight when Mustafa Kamal said the things that were said by others for years now.

He accused both political and Musharraf governments of falling prey to political compromises on the issue of RAW funding and collusion with the MQM.

“I am the first Pakistani to say that Altaf Hussain is a terrorist,” he said. He added that 234 cases had been registered against the MQM supremo and a commission should be constituted to investigate these cases.

Imran Khan also criticised Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for his statement against the NAB and alleged that the Sharif brothers were hurling threats at NAB because they were corrupt.

He said that the NAB should probe the affairs of Sharif brothers who were dolling out billions of rupees of public money on their own publicity through a spree of advertisements.

“It is the age of social media and they (Sharif bothers) cannot run public affairs as their kingdom,” he stressed.

He said that the NAB should also probe the matters of Metro Bus, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and mega projects of the PML-N government.

He pointed out that in Peshawar a flyover was constructed at the cost of Rs830 million per kilometre, but in Punjab the same was built for Rs2.11 billion per kilometre at Azadi Chowk, Lahore. “The NAB ought to investigate it,” PTI chief demanded.

He claimed that even cricket had been ruined by those awarded for the role they played in the last elections to get the PML-N people elected in Punjab.

Imran Khan lauded Pervaiz Khattak for what he termed good governance in the province. He referred to the recent survey of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) and said it had put Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ahead of all the provinces in good governance index.

To a question, Imran Khan said the provincial government was taking measures to further strengthen the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) and the first draft of the amended bill would be sent to the cabinet for approval.

Earlier, he condemned the attack on Dr Noorul Iman and said the senior doctor was attacked by a mafia as he was supporting the reforms that the government had initiated to improve healthcare services in the province. He said that chief minister had directed the police to probe the firing incident and nab those responsible for the attack.

Replying to a question about the development funds utilisation in the province, Pervaiz Khattak said the provincial government had spent 78 percent funds of Annual Development Programme (ADP) during its first financial year while 92 percent of ADP was utilised last year. “This is a record in the country,” he insisted.—Originally published in The News