PM Imran Khan slams political rivals, blames them for 'destroying' Pakistan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has hit out at his political rivals from the powerful Bhutto and Sharif families, blaming them for promoting corruption and destroying the country.

In an interview to Al Jazeera news channel that was aired by Pakistan Television (PTV) on Saturday, Khan said Pakistan was rich in resources but the Bhutto and Sharif families used them unfairly.

Khan, heading the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, slammed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of slain leader Benazir Bhutto, saying these were not parties but dynasties "responsible for corruption and the current problems faced by the country”.

He said corruption was the biggest evil and repeated his long-held view that elites in the developing world were siphoning resources to the western world by keeping their own people poor.

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He said his government wanted Pakistan to become a prosperous country and was fighting against the two super-rich families, Geo News reported.

"Corruption is something which destroys a country. The poor countries are poor not because they lack resources but because their leadership is corrupt," Khan said.

Former prime minister Sharif, currently in London for medical treatment, is facing corruption charges in Pakistan. Former Pakistan president, Asif Ali Zardari, also husband of late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, is also facing a slew of corruption charges.

"I will myself conduct transparent investigations against ministers If corruption allegations are levelled against them," he said, adding that the government sprung into action after a sugar inquiry report exposed the mafia.

Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, said that during his long stay in the UK, he became well versed with the West’s political system and has always criticised the politics of western powers.

The Pakistan prime minister also said that his government will raise the Kashmir issue at every forum.

India has categorically rejected the reference made to Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan and maintains that it is an “integral and inalienable” part of India. New Delhi has repeatedly asked Islamabad not to interfere in the country’s internal matters.

Expressing concern over the Afghan crisis, Khan said the people in the neighbouring country were facing extreme hunger and the US should support them.

He said although no Afghan was involved in the 9/11 terror attacks, yet Afghanistan was attacked for unknown reasons by the US.

"I didn’t understand what objectives the US wanted to achieve in Afghanistan. They occupied the country for 20 years in the name of so-called war (against terror). If the purpose was to dismantle Al-Qaeda, then it (Al-Qaeda) was over after two years,” he said.

Khan said if Afghanistan ends up in chaos, Pakistan will face its consequences, as it shares a 2,600-km long border with the war-torn country.

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