ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday said if the current setup remained in power, it would abolish the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accounta­bility Bureau (NAB), eventually destroying all state institutions.

Talking to party workers and supporters at his Banigala residence, the former prime minister said: “If institutions are rendered useless, the country gets destroyed.” He added that [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif will practically abolish the FIA.

“It is just like deploying a cat to guard milk,” he said.

Mr Khan said Shehbaz Sharif had gotten all his cases worth Rs16 billion cleared and would not hesitate to abolish NAB as well to go scot-free in corruption cases.

He once again alleged that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was systematically killing officers and witnesses involved in cases against its leaders.

“Dr Rizwan, who was investigating their cases, died of heart failure; another officer, Nadeem, met the same fate, while Gulzar and Maqsood, their employees, also expired,” he added.

He said that in order to hide their misappropriations they even burnt the record of Lahore Develop­ment Authority (LDA).

The former prime minister reiterated that the new government was imposed upon the country by the United States under a conspiracy.

“Now they are using police to lodge false cases; eight FIRs have already been registered against me,” he added.

The PTI chairman said neither police force was used nor restrictions were imposed when the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) held political marches to Islamabad.

“They were also silencing free voice by pressurising media,” he said, adding that during his tenure, the only concern was fake news.

About the recent increase in prices, Mr Khan said his government had decided to give subsidy of Rs200 billion, and instead of increasing prices, lowered petrol and diesel price by Rs4 per litre and made electricity cheaper by Rs4 per unit.

“We too had the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pressure, but we resisted it because we could not burden our people anymore,” he added.

Mr Khan said within two months, the incumbent government had taken inflation to new heights, never seen before in the country’s history, adding that three months ago they were insisting that Imran Khan should not have increased oil prices.

He said people, especially labourers and those from the working class, should come out for their rights and take part in the next protest against the government.

“They do not have any consideration for the people of this country; they only care about what America tells them,” he added.

Mr Khan said if his government could give a grant of Rs12,000 to the poor and needy during the peak time of Covid-19, the incumbent government should do the same.

Speaking about the opposition leader in the National Assembly, the PTI chief said: “If the leader of the opposition is Raja Riaz, a turncoat set to contest the next elections on the PML-N ticket, then there was no democracy in the country.”

“It means the sanctity of the Parliament is no more,” he added.

Earlier, PTI secretary general Asad Umar and senior vice president Dr Shireen Mazari held a joint press conference in which they said the “do more” mantra had returned after the US regime change conspiracy. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Umar warned that high cement prices would impact over 30 industries and deprive daily-wage earners of their livelihood.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2022