Islamabad: Following an “anti-state” speech by former Pakistan premier Imran Khan a day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that Khan must be reined in before he divides the country any further, media reports said.
“What Imran Khan said yesterday was horrible. He is poisoning the minds of the country’s masses. The country will be further divided and this language must be stopped according to the Constitution and law,” Sharif said while addressing the National Assembly, Express Tribune reported.
Addressing the Abbottabad rally on Sunday, Khan had claimed that more than three million people will march to Islamabad when he gives the protest call to the nation after May 20.
The deposed premier once again said that only animals were neutral in remarks apparently aimed at the military leadership, which didn’t take a side when he was ousted from power in a no-trust move last month, Express Tribune reported.
“If you are neutral, you are supporting falsehood,” he had said.
Sharif in his speech said that the example Khan gave on Sunday about the betrayal of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah with reference to Pakistan’s national institutions was horrible.
“You (Imran Khan) were fine with this institute when it was feeding you like a baby… The support you got from it was unprecedented,” Sharif said.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly has passed a resolution condemning Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairperson Khan’s “anti-army” statements during his public gathering in Abbottabad on Sunday.
The resolution was tabled by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Samaa TV reported.
–IANS