Opposition will declare me the best person on earth if I offer them amnesty, says Pakistan PM Imran

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the opposition parties that are part of an 10-party anti-government alliance — the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) - will declare him the best person on earth if he offers them an NRO - a reprieve from corruption cases.

"They will say that I am a gem of a person who has properly highlighted the issue of Kashmir, if they get an NRO,” the premier told a TV channel.

He was apparently referring to the PDM’s leader’s Friday speeches at their Muzaffarabad rally to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day. At the rally, the opposition leaders criticised the premier over his failure to stop India from illegally annexing Kashmir in August 2019.

"I'm ready for any sort of agreement, but I will never offer an NRO to the looters. I will help the opposition out with organising their long march anywhere they want, but will not give them the NRO,” Imran said.

No matter what they do, he said, he won’t give them an NRO. "The PDM must bear in mind that people don’t support looters. People around the world have come out on the streets to protest against corruption. Has anyone ever come out on the streets to support corruption of political leaders.”

He said deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif is hiding abroad along with his children. "The families of his brother as well as their munshi (former finance minister Ishaq Dar) are also hiding abroad. They see people as fools but those who treat people as fools are the greatest fool themselves.”