‘Army chief treating me like an enemy,’ complains Imran Khan

• Establishment “does not understand what politics is,” says PTI chief.
• He says incumbent army chief should look into him personally.
• He claims government was planning on arresting him earlier this week.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said Friday he felt that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Asim Munir was treating him like an enemy.

“The establishment does not understand what politics is,” the PTI chief said while speaking to journalists in Lahore, just days after his return from Islamabad where he secured bail in three cases.

He further said that he had “no fight with the establishment” and that he was willing to talk to the establishment for the betterment of the country.

“However, if anyone thinks I will kneel before them, that cannot happen. I can't help it if no one is interested in talking.”

Speaking on the matter of the corruption cases against him, the former PM said: “The cases of corruption against my wife and me cannot be proved,” adding that if the COAS doubted his integrity so much, he should look into it personally and would find that "I am indeed innocent of any corruption".

Khan also maintained that it was “very important” for the country’s army to be strong.

Moreover, during his conversation, Khan accused Gen (retd) Qamar Jawed Bajwa of “backstabbing” him, and asserted that the former COAS should be court-martialed. He complained that general (retd) Bajwa had spoken against Moscow right after he had gone there for a visit following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

General elections

During the talk with journalists, Khan also spoke about the upcoming general elections and said: "We [PTI] will win the election despite Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) umpires."

He declared that overseas Pakistanis stood with his party and would keep supporting PTI.

In response to a query regarding his recent trip to Islamabad when he was due to be present in four courts, Khan said that the decision to travel to the capital by road, instead of air, was made late at night.

“There was news that they wanted to arrest me from the airport and take me to Balochistan.”

The PTI chief expressed concerns that his life was still in danger and said that “those who should protect” him were instead putting him in danger. He also said that going to jail would earn the party more votes.

Khan also said that women who had been elected on reserved seats also wanted to be considered as candidates for the post of the Punjab chief minister.

“If the decision for the post is made now, there will be a massacre,” Khan laughed.