Khan says opponents likely to try assassinating him again: Der Spiegel

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Der Spiegel
14 Apr 2023 00:16
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In an interview for Germany's Der Spiegel, former Prime Minister Imran Khan discusses the battle for power that is pushing the country into deep chaos.

Security personnel holding bulletproof shields to secure former Prime Minister Imran Khan, center, after appearing in a court, in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 21, 2023 (AP)

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said, in an interview for Der Spiegel, on Thursday, he believed a second assassination attempt is likely and explained that despite "precautionary measures" that he has been taking, his opponents remained "very powerful people."

Khan said his opponents will try another assassination attempt on him, making accusations, "above all", against the intelligence chief, Faisal Naseer, alongside the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister.

Khan also noted that his opponents have resorted to coercion and violence "because they know they will lose the elections," adding that "they don't want to see me in power because they fear that I will then bring them to justice."

When asked where the country is headed, considering that his party just won a victory against the central government in court, the former PM said, "According to the constitution, elections must be held within 90 days if the Provincial Assembly or the National Assembly is dissolved. My party ruled in two of the four provinces, which is almost 64 percent of the electorate of the whole country. So, I dissolved both my governments."

That being said, Khan stressed that "if the government follows the Supreme Court ruling, it will have to hold elections," adding that "that can lead to political and economic stability." However, if the Supreme Court ruling gets overridden, then "the law of the jungle will prevail" in Pakistan.

Khan had made similar remarks during a previous interview for Al Mayadeen last month.

Conspiracy followed by murder attempt

During his interview for Al Mayadeen, Khan proclaimed that his government was "removed through a conspiracy."

"The conspiracy was led by an ex-army chief, after joining two crooked families who had been ruling Pakistan for 30 years. And I had replaced them, so he brought them back," Khan indicated.

Khan considered that all parties to the conspiracy to remove him from power are terrified of the upcoming elections because they are very well aware that his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will "sweep the elections."

“The assassination attempt on me was predicted by me.” #ImranKhan mentions those responsible for planning the assassination attempt at one of his rallies last year by name.@ZeinabSaffar @ImranKhanPTI @PTIofficial pic.twitter.com/UlGwZBL4gB
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 12, 2023

He noted that out of 37 elections, PTI won the majority, assuming power in 30 of them. Khan confirmed that these parties' fear of the election results led them to attempt to exclude, imprison, or even kill [him], describing all parties to the conspiracy as "mafias".

The former Pakistani Prime Minister confirmed that he currently faces 77 lawsuits for the same reason and brought to the audience's attention that new lawsuits continue to be filed against him -- the latest of which is blasphemy and sowing sedition and terrorism -- stressing that the point is to keep him away from the political arena.

Khan noted that he was expecting an assassination attempt against him and that he named, about two months ago in two public rallies, the parties that tried to assassinate him, namely the two families or the "mafias" who had ruled Pakistan, along with Pakistani intelligence officer General Faisal, whom he called out by name when he survived the assassination attempt.

Khan said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Minister of Interior Rana Sanaullah, and General Faisal are involved in extrajudicial killings, stressing that these three were responsible for his assassination attempt.

Regarding the prohibition order by Pakistan’s electronic media regulatory authority to ban his speeches, Imran Khan explained that this was out of fear that he would return to power through the people, since the country is on the verge of upcoming elections, approximately 60 days away.

"The reason why they ban me is because they don’t want me to campaign," he said.