LODHRAN, July 12(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan warned the rulers Monday that no matter where they go, the people of Pakistan will call them “thieves and traitors”.
Addressing a rally in Lodhran ahead of the by-polls scheduled to be held on July 17 in Punjab, the former prime minister referred to the incident that took place with Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, where he was heckled and called a “thief” by PTI supporters last week.
“You (Iqbal) say that Imran Khan has taught people to misbehave. Ahsan Iqbal, this isn’t indecency, this is the truth: you are a thief,” Khan said as he lashed out at the federal minister.
A day earlier, the family that called out the federal minister at the fast-food restaurant on Friday apologised to Iqbal in person at his residence, where they expressed “remorse and embarrassment”.
But the PTI later blamed the PML-N for pressurising the family into apologising to Iqbal. However, a member of the family Osama Sher said that there was “no pressure” on them and they apologised to the federal minister “willingly”.
Khan further told the jalsa that Iqbal and other PML-N leaders like him blindly follow party supremo Nawaz Sharif despite their “corruption”.
The PTI chairman claimed that after coming into power, the incumbent rulers had “stolen” Rs1,100 billion from the nation — and they would continue this since they are “corrupt”.
“People will utter two words wherever they see you: thieves and traitors. You overthrew a government with the backing of the United States,” the PTI chairman said.