My 'utmost effort' to bring Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan to face jail — PM Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday lashed out at opposition leader Nawaz Sharif over his recent comments against the country’s top military leadership, saying it would now be his ‘utmost effort’ to bring the former prime minister back to Pakistan to face jail.
Khan was addressing a convention of the Tiger Force, a one-million-strong task force of young volunteers set up to facilitate official coronavirus relief efforts which has now been put to work in aid of multiple other Pakistan government departments.
At a protest rally in the eastern city of Gujranwala in the early hours of Saturday, Sharif, who addressed tens of thousands of people via video link from London, accused the army chief of “packing up” his government. The military has consistently denied meddling in politics.
Sharif’s second term as PM ended when his government was toppled in a military coup in 2000. He was prime minister for a third term from 2013 to 2017, when he was removed by the Supreme Court amid corruption revelations over his personal wealth.
He was subsequently convicted of graft but says the accusations are politically motivated. On October 25 last year, Sharif was granted bail and got court clearance to leave the country for medical treatment in London.
“From today it will be my utmost effort that you [Sharif] be brought back to this country,” Khan said to a charged crowd. “And you will be kept in a regular jail, not a VIP jail … You come back and I’ll see how we keep you.”
Addressing Sharif’s remarks against the military, Khan referred to two separate attacks on military convoys this week, in which 20 people, including 13 soldiers, were killed.
“Attacks are being carried out against our soldiers, our soldiers are sacrificing their lives,” he said.
“Why are they sacrificing their lives? It’s for us and this country. And this jackal [Sharif], who ran from here, is sitting there [in London], used this language against our army chief and the DG ISI [intelligence chief],” Khan said, as the crowd rang out in angry cheers.
“The opposition is going to see a different Imran Khan now,” the PM added, dismissing the Gujranwala rally as a ‘circus.’
Last month, nine major opposition parties formed the Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) to launch countrywide protests aimed at forcing Khan to resign and call early elections. The first rally was held in Gujranwala on Friday evening. Rallies are also planned for Karachi and Quetta later this month.
PM Khan’s PTI party swept to power in August 2018 after defeating all major opposition parties. The opposition alliance says the party won a rigged election, which Khan’s government denies.
The next general election is scheduled for 2023.