Ruling coalition government conspiring to pit PTI party against Pak army: Imran Khan

It is being done under a plan and they want to give an impression that the PTI is anti-army, he said.He also said that many western countries were extremely happy when his government was toppled.The former premier said that his opponents were trying to crush his PTI party and the prohibited funding case verdict by the Election Commission of Pakistan was the first step towards it.He said that former premier Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari were unable to compete with him in the elections and they were trying to technically knock out his party.

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the ruling coalition government in the country is conspiring to pit his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party against the army of the country.

Addressing his followers and general public through a video link after the arrest of his confidante Shehbaz Gill by police on Tuesday on the charges of sedition for inciting rebellion within the military, Khan said that the current coalition government was conspiring that the country's biggest party fights its own army. ''It is being done under a plan and they want to give an impression that the PTI is anti-army,'' he said.

He also said that many western countries were extremely happy when his government was toppled.

The former premier said that his opponents were trying to crush his PTI party and the prohibited funding case verdict by the Election Commission of Pakistan was the first step towards it.

He said that former premier Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari were unable to compete with him in the elections and they were trying to technically knock out his party. "They have prepared a plan to crush the PTI," he said. "Let me tell you […] this plot is extremely dangerous and can damage the country," he added.

He also talked about the allegation that he bought official gifts from the state depository (Toshakhana), saying all past prime ministers and presidents and people appointed to higher ranks got gifts, including the army chief and demanded investigation against all of them.

He also claimed that prohibited funding and Toshakhana cases were being used to disqualify him from politics. Khan also said that reports about a deal with the US for use of Pakistan airspace would result in instability. "We will get trapped in a conflict again and the loss will outweigh the benefit," he said.

He also said that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan recently increased its activities in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa which was also a conspiracy to weaken the government of his party in the province.

He warned of an upcoming smear campaign to tarnish his character through fake tapes and said that such tactics would fail and the only solution to the multiple problems faced by the country was fair and free elections.

Talking about the arrest of Shehbaz Gill, he said that no action was taken against when Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and others spoke against the army.

He said Gill should have been given a chance to clarify his statement. He also took exception to the manner of his arrest that included the smashing of windows.

Meanwhile, Gill was presented before a court by the authorities which remanded him for two days in police custody to enable further probe.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)