Imran Khan fires fresh salvo at Pak PM, says Rasheed made "scapegoat"

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Sunday said that former information minister Parvaiz Rasheed has been made a scapegoat, adding the nation "demands much more".

The PTI boss made this remark after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked Rasheed to step down from his post.

Hitting out at Rasheed, the PTI chief invoking a metaphor said, "The nation wants the sacrifice of a horse, not a mule," reports the Dawn.

He was speaking to reporters outside his Bani Gala residence.

Facing stiff resistance, Rasheed had been asked to step down as the government was forced to launch a probe into Dawn's story "Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military" which reported details of a high-level civil-military meeting discussing the issue of Pakistan's banned outfits.

An action was demanded by the military as it viewed the leak from the meeting as a "break of national security".

This move has given Khan, a strong critic of Sharif, another opportunity to hit out at the incumbent government as his party is all set for the protest of Islamabad on November 2.

The PTI chairman said, "Rasheed could not speak without a signal from "his masters" to do so. He could not dare to anything on his own. He just obeyed instructions."

"People are not ready to accept the sacrifice of an associate," he said. "We want to know who was the one from the 'royal family' who directed this entire drama," he added.

Continuing his outburst against the government for their actions in the days leading up to his scheduled November 2 protest, Khan said that it has "gone out of its way" to restrain the party from exercising its constitutional right of protest.

According to the PTI chief, the credibility of judiciary was at stake as the government was violating laws and had committed contempt of court.

Khan yesterday said that a corrupt leader is controlling the country's institutions for justice.

In an apparent reference to shipping containers that have blocked routes to Islamabad despite an order by the Islamabad High Court to keep the city open, he said "What will people think? You passed orders but everyone can see what is going on.