Imran Khan attacks political rivals, calls them 'three rats' harming Pak

Referring to Opposition leaders Fazal-ur-Rehman of Pakistan Democratic Movement, Shahbaz Sharif of PML-N and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday, called them rats for jointly sucking the blood of the country in the garb of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

He added that the country was facing the burden of loans because of Musharraf's decision to grant an NRO to the Opposition "to save his government."

He further made a mockery of the new generation of the Opposition leaders Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Pakistan Prime Minister said that the former "has not worked for one hour in her life" and the latter who "wants to be the leader" should have been "let to grow up" before becoming the leader.

"Maryam who has not worked for one hour in life, and the one who has not learnt how to speak Urdu in 14 years, he aspires to be a leader. Asif Zardari, he should grow up before being made a leader. He has been repeating that if National Accountability Bureau calls him, he would cry," he said.

Addressing a rally as a power show on the eve of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, Khan said, "These three rats are looting the country for the last 30 years."

They have accumulated millions of dollars worth of property outside the country and have offshore accounts. All this drama is happening for the sake of NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance). They want Imran Khan to kneel in front of them, as (former Pakistan army chief ) General Pervez Musharraf did," Imran Khan said during a rally at the Parade Ground in the capital city.

Earlier this evening, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi hit out at Opposition leader Asif Ali Zardari and said that no members of his party are ready to be sold, no matter how much wealth Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader offers.

"Asif Ali Zardari, bring all your wealth, none of the political activists are ready to be sold. Today the people of Pakistan have expressed their faith in Imran Khan. I have come to tell you that my and my son who are in the National Assembly, our votes will go to you. We will not compromise. We were, are and will always stand by," he said.

The show of strength by Imran Khan comes as the opposition geared up for a no-trust vote in the National Assembly to oust his government. This comes as the opposition has geared up for a no-trust vote in the National Assembly to oust his government over massive corruption, unemployment, inflation and price hike.

Earlier this week, Imran Khan had claimed that the no-confidence motion was tabled so that the opposition leaders could get an 'easy escape'. "Three rats are trying to hunt me down but what they don't know is that they will be hunted down instead... I will defeat them," he had said during a rally in Mansehra.

Earlier, rumours of Imran Khan resigning from his office were rife after the renaming of Pakistan's Prime Minister's Office YouTube channel to "Imran Khan" on Saturday.

The no-confidence motion was submitted by the Opposition parties on March 8 after the Pakistan People's Party's (PPP) long march in Islamabad. The Opposition has been confident that its motion would be carried as many PTI lawmakers have come out in the open against PM Imran Khan.

As the crucial no-confidence motion session inched closer and uncertainty continued to shroud political alliances, at least 50 ministers belonging to the ruling party had gone 'missing' from the political front.

The Pakistani National Assembly has a total strength of 342 members, with the majority mark being 172. The PTI led coalition was formed with the support of 179 members, with Imran Khan's PTI having 155 members, and four major allies Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) having seven, five, five and three members respectively.

Imran Khan's situation was precarious given that three of the four allies, that is, MQM-P, PML-Q and BAP had stated their support to the Opposition's no-confidence motion and said that they will vote accordingly.