Imran accuses Zardari of hatching plot to assassinate him

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has claimed former president Asif Ali Zardari is hatching a new plot to assassinate him after two previous attempts failed.

In a virtual press conference on Friday, Khan — who was ousted as the prime minister in April last year — said four people orchestrated a plan “behind closed doors” to assassinate him.

“I got to know about it and then I recorded my video explaining the attack. In a public rally, I announced that I would release the video if something were to happen to me. They stepped back after this.”

Without naming anyone again, Khan said another plan was made to have me killed by a religious extremist — indicating towards the November 3, 2022, Wazirabad attack, where he was shot in the legs and is still recovering from the injuries.

“Now, there’s a Plan C. Asif Zardari is behind this. He has amassed a lot of money through corruption and he has invested that money in terrorists and hired a militant organisation.”

Khan claimed “power agencies” were involved in this attempt. “I am [revealing] these names as my nation should know who were [behind] these attacks,” he said. The ex-prime minister said the nation should be aware of who was behind assassination bid so “they cannot enjoy their lives after they have done this”.

“The nation is looking towards the judiciary as this is a decisive moment,” the PTI chief said, mentioning that since his ouster, several people have been unmasked.

Following the rupee’s historic fall against the US dollar in the country, the PTI chief hit out at the incumbent government and predicted hyperinflation and “insurmountable” economic challenges in days to come.

“During the past three days, the local unit plunged by Rs33 against the US dollar,” he said. “The rupee fell by Rs84 during the last nine months.”

While giving the reasons behind the devaluation of the local currency, the deposed prime minister said that the country’s foreign currency reserves have reached a record low. “Foreign currency reserves sink to $3.6 billion.”

The ex-premier also lambasted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying that he has now become aware of what sort of a “genius” Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar is.