Tag: Becky Anderson

  • IK doesn’t mention intelligence officer name who he holds responsible for assassination attempt

    IK doesn’t mention intelligence officer name who he holds responsible for assassination attempt

    In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, former Prime Minister Imran Khan named two of the three people he has alleged are behind the attack on him, however he surprisingly did not name the third person.

    Talking to Anderson, the Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that three bullets were removed from his right leg while some shrapnel was left inside his left leg and that it would take him “four to six weeks” to resume his activities after the assassination attempt in Wazirabad.

    Khan also said that there were two shooters and hinted at the possibility of a third gunman. “There was this guy who fired the first volley … then there was another volley [that] came in over our heads because we were falling,” he added, terming the attack a “planned assassination attempt”.

    He also alleged that a cover-up of the incident was underway, saying that is why he had called for an independent investigation and for three people to resign — who Khan claims are responsible for the attack. Khan then named Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and mentioned a senior intelligence official but surprisingly did not name him during the interview.

    When asked about the source of his pre-emptive information about the attack, Khan referred to his term in power and said he had “connections with intelligence agencies.”

    “How did I get the information? From within the intelligence agencies. Why? Because most people are appalled by what is going on in this country. What is happening in Pakistan is unprecedented,” he told CNN, adding that if his allegations were wrong, then an inquiry would prove them wrong. He questioned that he could, as the intended target of the attack, “not name the people I’m suspicious of planning this attempt on me.”

    The former Premier also alleged that two months ago, an agency produced a video that accused him of blasphemy. He stressed that his opponents had “picked up and ran with” the video while he had said right then at the time that it was a “planned thing”.

  • Donald Lu should be sacked over his ‘sheer arrogance and bad manners’: Khan

    Donald Lu should be sacked over his ‘sheer arrogance and bad manners’: Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday called for the sacking of United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Donald Lu for “sheer arrogance and bad manners”.

    In an interview with CNN, Khan said the US diplomat told Pakistan’s ambassador that unless “you get Imran Khan removed in a vote of no-confidence — which was not tabled but he seemed to know about it — Pakistan will suffer consequences”.

    “And then goes on to say, of course, if you get rid of him through the vote of no-confidence, all will be forgiven — such arrogance […] by the way Becky, this guy should be sacked for bad manners and sheer arrogance,” Khan told CNN’s Becky Anderson.

    Anchorperson Becky Anderson asked Khan if he had gotten in touch with the US president or state secretary regarding the matter. Khan did not answer, instead of saying that the National Security Council (NSC) meeting had decided to issue a demarche and a protest was registered to the US in Pakistan and Washington.

    Anderson said the US had “rubbished” the notion that it was involved in a regime change in Pakistan and asked Khan if he genuinely believed his claim of there being a foreign conspiracy to topple his government.

    “What were they meeting [US officials] for? They were the first ones to jump ship and they were the ones who then offered million dollars each to buy my other MNAs who jumped ship later on. Why would the US embassy be interested in our party backbenchers?” said Khan.

    Anderson questioned Khan’s visit to Russia, adding that “the optics didn’t and don’t look good, do they?” To which Khan responded, “They didn’t but let me explain to you. This visit was planned a long time back and all stakeholders in Pakistan were onboard. The military wanted Russian hardware, we wanted oil, there was a gas pipeline which was being negotiated for the past six years before my government came in … how would I have known that the day I land in Moscow, President [Vladimir] Putin would decide to go into Ukraine?”

  • ‘US clueless and in state of shock over Taliban takeover’: PM Khan

    ‘US clueless and in state of shock over Taliban takeover’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, while speaking with CNN journalist Becky Anderson, said the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan is to engage with the Taliban and incentivise them on issues such as women’s rights and inclusive government.

    “The Taliban hold all of Afghanistan and if they can sort of now work towards an inclusive government, get all the factions together, Afghanistan could have peace after 40 years. But if it goes wrong and which is what we are really worried about, it could go to chaos. The biggest humanitarian crisis, a huge refugee problem,” Khan said.

    “No puppet government in Afghanistan is supported by the people,” he said. “So rather than sitting here and thinking that we can control them, we should incentivise them. Because Afghanistan, this current government, clearly feels that without international aid and help, they will not be able to stop this crisis. So we should push them in the right direction.”

    “Our intelligence agencies told us that the Taliban would not be able to take over all of Afghanistan, and if they tried to take Afghanistan militarily, there would be a protracted civil war, which is what we were scared of because we are the ones who would suffer the most,” Khan said. Now, he said, the world should “give them time” to form a legitimate government and make good on their promises.

    PM Khan commenting on women’s rights in Afghanistan said, “I feel very strongly that it is a mistake to think that someone from the outside will give Afghan women their rights [because] Afghan women are strong. Give them time, and they will get their rights.”

    “Women should have the ability in society to fulfil their potential in life [but] you cannot impose women’s rights in Afghanistan from abroad,” said Khan.

    When questioned about the decision of the United States (US) and NATO forces to withdraw from Afghanistan, PM Khan said that the “US should have attempted a political settlement with the Taliban from a position of strength.”

    “Just because we sided with the US, we became an ally of the US after 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan. The suffering this country went through with at one point there were 50 militant groups attacking our government … on top of it, they must also know there were 480 drone attacks by the US in Pakistan,” he said.

    On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would reassess its ties with Pakistan following the withdrawal. He told Congress during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that Pakistan has a “multiplicity of interests some that are in conflict with ours”.

    “It is one that is involved hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan, it’s one that’s involved harbouring members of the Taliban … It is one that’s also involved in different points cooperation with us on counterterrorism,” Blinken said, Reuters reported.

    Khan called such comments “ignorant”, telling CNN: “I have never heard such ignorance.”

    “I cannot destroy my country to fight someone else’s war,” he said. “My responsibility would have been to the people of my country.”

    PM Khan also said that he hasn’t met President Joe Biden after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

    “He did not call as he is a busy man, but our relationship with the US is not just dependent on a phone call, it needs to be a multidimensional relationship,” remarked Khan.