Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's politics is defined by "blatant lies" and attacks on institutions, said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday after Khan's arrest.
He said that he had no doubt that Imran Khan's politics is defined by "blatant lies," "untruths", U-turns, and vicious attacks on institutions. "Bending the judiciary to your whims and behaving as if rules don't apply to you. What I said about you in my tweet is established by facts over the past few years," he said in a tweet.
In the wake of Imran Khan's arrest, the Prime Minister made a series of tweets responding to the former PM's two questions, levelled against Sharif. Earlier on May 8, Khan had asked Sharif if he could nominate those responsible for assassination attacks against him.
Khan had tweeted, "As someone who has suffered 2 assassination attempts on his life in last few months, can I dare to ask SS the following Qs: 1. Have I, a citizen, the right to nominate those I feel were responsible for assassination attacks on me? Why was I denied my legal & Constitutional right."
Sharif responded to Khan's questions with four counter-questions, "One, maligning Pakistan Army as an institution is a recurring pattern in your politics after your ouster from power. Did you not resort to constant mud-slinging of the leadership of the army and intelligence agency much before the Wazirabad attack?"
In his second question, the Prime Minister asked Khan what legal way he opted apart from threatening and making baseless allegations daily.
"You refused the offer of cooperation from the federal government & boycotted the legal proceedings. You were never interested in finding the truth about the attack but used the condemnable incident for petty political objectives," his tweet read.
PM Sharif also asked the PTI chief, "Three, at whose behest was the savaging social media campaign against the martyrs of the armed forces launched after the helicopter crash? Which party did the troll brigade belong to that mocked the martyrs, which was a new low and unimaginable in our politics and culture? With these subversive/treacherous acts on your part, do we need an enemy?"
He also levelled allegations against Khan of using religion for political purposes and against his party workers for condoning, justifying and even celebrating the incident of harassment of an official delegation which also included a female minister in a mosque.
"Four, who has used religion for political purposes by describing the political agitation in religious terms, a cunning & self-serving attempt at exposing political opponents to violence at the hands of your supporters? Did your party leaders not condone, justify & even celebrate the incident of harassment & intimidation of an official delegation including a female minister in the courtyard of our beloved Prophet's Mosque (PBUH) by disregarding all norms of reverence & devoutness?" his tweet added.
PM Sharif also advised Khan to not go to Pakistan, which the former PM had termed was becoming a "jungle."
"As for your assertion of Pakistan becoming a 'jungle', I advise you not to go there, for the facts are often bitter and disastrous. Let us keep this for another day," the tweet said.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon Khan was arrested by Rangers personnel from Islamabad High Court (IHC) -- acting on National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) warrant.
The PTI chairman was arrested as part of NAB's investigation in the Al-Qadir Trust case ahead of his appearance before the IHC to seek bail in multiple FIRs registered against him.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
