Pak Army would be held responsible by history for doing nothing to stop corruption: Imran Khan

Islamabad: In a scathing attack on Pakistan's powerful military, former premier Imran Khan on Thursday said that it would be held responsible by history for doing nothing to stop corruption in the country.

Addressing a seminar in Islamabad, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader used the word "neutral" for the Army, which he coined after the armed forces declared that they would not interfere in politics when he was unceremoniously removed from office through a no-confidence vote in April.

He asked the Army to review its policy to stay neutral and act forthwith to stop the economic decline of the country.

“I want to ask the neutrals today: Do you know where the country is heading? How can the country and economy progress when you don’t even know what will happen in the next 2-3 months,” he said.

Khan said that in the day run up to his coming to power, the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency used to tell him about the corruption by Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders and he started believing that “establishment will act but that did not happen”.

“I now ask the establishment, how did you let these corrupt leaders rule the country? This means you don’t see theft as a bad thing…When the establishment was aware of the corrupt people, why did not they stop their way?” the ex-premier asked, pointing out that the establishment had the greatest degree of power in the country.

“But with great power comes great responsibility,” he said. “No matter how many times you call yourself neutral, history will blame you for what you did with the country.” The former premier also revealed that the anti-corruption watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), was not under his control when he was chief executive of the country.

“There was a hand of someone who would press the accelerator and undo it as per his wish. If NAB was in my control, I would have retrieved Rs 15 to Rs 20 billion from them (his rival politicians),” he claimed.

Khan said that he would never accept the present government and preferred death instead if there was no other choice, as he urged the Army to make correct decisions to bring political stability, which was needed for economic development.

He slammed the decision made behind the curtains and asked that the establishment should make decisions for the sake of 220 million people, especially youth.

Khan heavily criticised the government for targeting journalists who were supportive of his PTI party and closing of ARY News channel, which was sympathetic towards his policies.

He also alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to disqualify him from politics.