Imran Khan guilty of ‘high treason’: Nawaz Sharif

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan and all others involved in the “conspiracy” against the nation are guilty of high treason and should be tried for desecrating the Constitution. The former premier’s remarks came after President Arif Alvi approved the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan to dissolve the National Assembly after the embattled premier recommended the controversial move in the wake of a no-trust move against him.

“Today, a man obsessed with power trampled the Constitution,” Sharif, who is currently based in London, wrote on his official Twitter handle.

Sharif, who is also the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), said that Khan and all characters involved in the “conspiracy” against the nation are guilty of high treason and should be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution.

The 72-year-old leader warned that anyone involved in any wrongdoing with the country and desecration of the Constitution will be taken to task, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Sharif is in London for medical treatment on expired bail. In 2017, Sharif was removed from office by the Supreme Court following revelations from the Panama Papers case. In 2018, the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office for life, amidst a slew of corruption cases against him.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif termed Imran Khan a traitor to the Constitution and democracy.

Shehbaz, the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, said that Article 6 is now applicable to “Imran Niazi and his followers for openly violating the Constitution”.

Opposition leader and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the deputy speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri committed an ‘unconstitutional act’ by dismissing the no-trust motion against the premier.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Suri had earlier dismissed the no-confidence motion submitted by the joint opposition against prime minister Khan, terming it “unconstitutional” under Article 5.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Khan on Sunday said that the Opposition parties seemed taken aback after the National Assembly deputy speaker blocked their move to overthrow his government through a no-confidence vote.

“I want to remind you all that I told you yesterday evening that don’t panic… the Opposition still wondering as to what happened to them,” the premier remarked while addressing leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party here after a day of dramatic political developments.

Khan said that if he had disclosed his strategy to foil the Opposition’s no-trust motion last night, they would not be as shocked by his counter move as they appear now.

Khan said the assembly’s proceedings on the matter of no-trust motion and his party’s strength in the lower house of parliament became “irrelevant” after it was established that Opposition’s move to overthrow him was part of a “foreign conspiracy”.