It became personal from there as Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif launched an all-out attack on PTI founder and former minister Imran Khan, whom he accused of hypocrisy regarding foreign interference. According to Asif, Khan is “on his knees begging” now from the very nation against whose interference he has vociferously disagreed.
Asif quoted Khan’s spectacular volte-face on the issue thus: “He once declared ‘slavery is unacceptable’ but now asserts ‘slavery should be immediately accepted.'” This volte-face made Asif question Khan’s loyalty, “This person has a history; can anyone name a single individual he has been loyal to? Not even his own party members can identify someone.”
The Defence Minister had also marvelled at the change of heart on the part of PTI to hold discussions after all, saying: “What happened in the last 15 days that the PTI agreed to hold talks? Some charm or spell was used to change their minds?”
Asif also warned the Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq to be aware. He said, “Be aware, do not become a use for them. My prayers are with the success of these negotiations.”
Asif stressed that the process of negotiation has to be inclusive, saying all power centers will have to be taken on board for an amicable resolution of the political stalemate.
This comment comes a day after Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, called for a meeting between Khan, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to discuss challenges facing Pakistan.
