Reham Khan, the ex-wife of Imran Khan, on Saturday sharply criticized the Pakistani prime minister for his ‘repetitive’ speeches ahead of the vote of no confidence against him on Sunday and said the 69-year-old leader faces a crushing defeat and It is unlikely to receive more attention in the country. In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18, she said he had “damaged” the country during his governance.
Reham Khan, who has been a vocal critic of Pakistan’s beleaguered prime minister, said Imran Khan always talks about himself and “is wrong”. She claimed: “He’s playing a dangerous plan and using extremely sexist and abusive language towards women.”
Imran Khan, who came to power in 2018 with the promise of creating a “Naya Pakistan”, is at a critical juncture in his political career as he lost a majority after defecting from his Pakistani party Tehreek-e-Insaf ( PTI). Two of his allied parties also withdrew their support and joined the ranks of the rejuvenated opposition that held him responsible for the economic crisis and runaway inflation in the country.
The leader of the PTI is facing the motion of no confidence, which was tabled by the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on March 28. The National Assembly is due to vote on the motion of no confidence on Sunday. Khan needs 172 votes in the lower house of 342 to foil the opposition’s bid to overthrow him. However, the opposition claims to have the support of 175 MPs and the Prime Minister is expected to resign immediately.
Reham Khan further said that the Pakistani prime minister was “scared and shamelessly using the religion card to make more noise outside parliament” ahead of the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly against him on Sunday. “Imran Khan has always been a hypocrite and only believes in self-promotions,” she said, while accusing him of drawing attention to himself contrary to the grace of the former cricketer Pakistani Javed Miandad.
“He couldn’t share the spotlight like Javed Miandad,” she said.
Reham Khan, who is a journalist by profession, said Imran Khan had “damaged Pakistan” and “those who brought him will now have to deal with him”. She also said Khan’s only contribution to Pakistan is his introduction of “deplorable conduct” through outright abuse and swearing. “That’s what he will be remembered for,” she said.
Criticizing him for being ‘selfish and untrustworthy’, Reham Khan, who married him in 2014 and split a year later, said Imran Khan’s ‘selfish attitude’ was unsuitable for a statesman. “He has zero confidence in himself, even his wife/girlfriends don’t believe him,” she said.
Slamming his recent accusations of a “foreign conspiracy” to impeach him for dissent over the pursuit of an independent foreign policy, Reham Khan said the move was irresponsible. “It’s incredibly irresponsible of him to put his self-interest when the national interest is at stake,” she said.
In a recent speech, Imran Khan named the United States as the country behind a “threatening letter” in what appeared to be a slip. The statement was criticized by many, including opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif.
Reham Khan said “everyone is a mafia and a traitor” in Imran Khan’s eyes.
She claimed that the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), Shehbaz Sharif, is the new Prime Minister.
Calling Imran Khan a “dictatorial”, she said he always uses people for his “selfish motives”. “PTI don’t trust Imran Khan because he was placed by the West. I put a lot of hopes in him but Imran Khan has no sportsmanship. He has lost vision and insight. “
However, a defiant Khan said he would not step down despite losing the majority and insisted he would “fight until the last ball”. Khan called rebel lawmakers “traitors”.
No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term. Moreover, no prime minister in Pakistan’s history has ever been ousted by a motion of no confidence, and Khan is the third prime minister to rise to the challenge.
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