‘I am captain who brought neutral umpires’: IK on whether he wants military out of politics or not

Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that he is the one who in the entire history of the game, brought in a neutral umpire to get fair results.

Khan was talking on TRT World’s “The Newsmakers” with Andrea Sanke, when the anchor asked, “You want the military out of Pakistan’s politics, or do you want the military on your side in Pakistan’s politics?”

Khan replied: “Let me say one thing. In the two hundred year history of test cricket, and international cricket, I am the captain who brought the neutral umpires. I am the one who actually brought in the neutral umpires in cricket because we wanted a fair result.”

“You must understand, for me right now, the most important thing in Pakistan is how do we get out of the quagmire, how do we get out of this situation”, he stated.

Question: Do you want the military out of Pakistan politics or on your side?

Answer: Look Andrea, I am the captain who brought neutral umpires in test cricket. pic.twitter.com/SBT3BLRaww

— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) November 8, 2022

During the interview, Khan again mentioned the names of PM Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Major General Faisal Naseer as the minds behind the assassination attempt on his life. “We are governed by criminals”, Khan said.

He reiterated that he wants an independent investigation. “We are a popular party in Punjab but we couldn’t get a case registered against them because the provincial police refused,” he told the host.

“If they turned out to be innocent in the investigation so it’s fine. At least it’s my right, they almost killed me”, Khan said.

He claimed that all the investigative agencies in the country are under these three people [Shehbaz, Sanaullah and Faisal Naseer].

About Naveed, the gunman who shot at the former Prime Minister, Imran Khan said, “After 20 minutes of the incident, a man appears and says that I shot Imran”.

Khan raised a question: “Who brought him on television? Police are not allowed to do this unless a proper investigation is carried out.”

Stressing that he was more determined now, Imran Khan said that he was expecting something to happen. “I predicted this four months ago that there was a plot against me,” he said.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former prime minister and a senior leader of the ruling coalition, also spoke with The Newsmakers and called the allegations levelled by Khan tragic. “It is a tragedy that a person of Imran Khan’s stature, who served as the prime minister of the country, would stoop so low to accuse the [sitting] prime minister and intelligence officials of being behind this shooting,” he said.

Abbasi said the shooting took place in a province that Khan’s PTI party controls and called for an investigation to ascertain the motivation behind this shooting. “The shooter has been arrested and the truth should come out. I think for Imran Khan to speculate and try to gain political points out of this is something that is very much not acceptable,” Abbasi said.

Imran Khan rejected Abbasi’s statement, saying he does not need popularity gained by accusing others.

Khan called on the Chief Justice (CJ) of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to be “more assertive” when it comes to dispensing justice.

“Justice persists when every person, even the most powerful, is brought under the rule of law. I, as the head of a province, can’t get the three people to be investigated, imagine what the situation will be for the common man,” he said, adding that PTI’s movement for “real struggle” demanded rule of law.