Imran Khan accuses former Pak president Zardari of conspiring to assassinate him

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 28 (ANI): Former Pakistan prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday accused former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari of hatching a conspiracy to assassinate him by giving a contract to a terrorist outfit, Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Khan while holding a news conference from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore via a video link, termed the alleged conspiracy ‘Plan-C’ for which he accused Zardari of paying money to a terrorist outfit to carry out the assassination attempt, the Pakistan-based newspaper reported. “Now they have made a Plan C, and Asif Zardari is behind this. He has loads of corruption money, which he loots from the Sindh government and spends on winning elections. He [Zardari] has given money to a terrorist outfit and people from powerful agencies are facilitating him,” Imran said, according to The Express Tribune Newspaper.

“This has been decided on three fronts and they will act soon,” he added. “I am telling you this because if something happens to me the nation should know the people who were behind this so that the nation never forgives them,” Khan said.
Khan, while referring to the gun attack on him in Wazirabad in November last year, said that there was a plot to kill him under ‘Plan-B’ in the name of religious extremism. “They almost succeeded in their plan to kill me but now they are moving towards Plan-C,” he said.

According to Khan, earlier, there were four people, who conspired to kill him in a closed room. “When I came to know about the plot, I made a video and sent it abroad and announced in a public meeting that if anything happens, the video will be released,” Khan said.

“Now they are going to commit the next attack on me, about which I am informing the nation today. Life and death are in the hands of Allah and I fear no one. I will go on the campaign trail anyway,” Imran said, referring to the upcoming provincial assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Khan was attacked in Wazirabad on November 23 while he was leading the “Azadi March” against the PML-N demanding snap polls. The law enforcement agencies arrested suspect Naveed Meher from the site of the attack. The suspect also admitted to opening fire on the PTI leadership.

The first information report of the incident was lodged on November 7 under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The probe into the assassination attempt on Imran Khan had been handed over to an anti-corruption officer, as per the sources within the JIT.

According to The News International report, Ghulam Mahmood Dogar had been given the responsibility of interrogating the suspect by anti-corruption officer Anwar Shah and no other member was given access to the attacker.