Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan Friday came out in a tell-all address to the nation after an assassination attempt on him from the hospital.
Khan said he will not stop his struggle for real freedom and would hit the road for the long march to Islamabad as soon as he got better.
He asserted that he did not care about his life and refused to remain under the "slavery of these thieves".
"As soon as I get well, I will give the call for the Islamabad and come out onto the streets," he said, adding that Pakistan "wasn't made for slavery".
Khan claimed that if there was one party in Pakistan that could unite the country it was PTI.
“If the military could unite the country then east Pakistan would not have broken away. Only political parties unite countries, the military helps.”
In an address to the nation from Shaukat Khanum hospital, he said that “we didn’t learn from history”.
“When I first set out for the march, I was told that they will kill me. At first, I wondered if they would really hurt the nation for their petty interests. I ask the nation today, do we have to stay like this, or do we have to change our fate and become free? Sacrifices are needed for this.”
He said he was already aware of the assassination attempt.
"I had already learned that there was a plan in place to kill me somewhere between Wazirabad and Gujrat, Khan said as he spoke during a televised address while still being admitted at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore where he is receiving treatment for his injuries.
Khan said that PTI tried to register a first information report (FIR) over the assassination bid on him but contended that everyone was “afraid because many institutions are above the law”.
Narrating the events of the attack on him, Imran said he would have been fatally hurt if “two heroes” were not present during the long march.
“I salute martyr Muazzamand Ibtisam, the way he caught the attacker, if it wasn’t for his bravery the attacker would have fired more bullets,” he said.
Khan urged Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa to hold "black sheep" in his institution accountable.
The stature of the army will not fall if you take action against them, he said. He went on to say that these "black sheep" were harming the reputation of the institution. He said when the army sentenced a major general for spying charges for the United States, its stature was increased.
Khan called on Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, saying that the leader of the country’s biggest party was “not getting justice”.
“CJP, whatever was done to me in the last six months, I can assure you it has never been done by the country even with an enemy.
“I won the highest civil awards, I raised the respect of Pakistan in cricket. The Shaukat Khanum hospital is internationally renowned. I made two universities. And then I created the biggest party in the country,” he said.
He said that the nation has finally stood up and now has two paths before it: a peaceful or a bloody revolution.
“There is no third way. I have seen this nation wake up and this genie of awareness won’t go back in the bottle.
“Now decide if we can bring change in a peaceful way through the ballot box and fair and free election or through chaos,” the former premier asked.
At the beginning of his address, Khan started berating the incumbent government and lamented how his government was ousted through a motion of no-confidence.
"The government could have never lost the no-trust move, but they [the coalition leaders] used money to become successful," he said, adding that the PTI-led government also had the financial means to engage in horse-trading but it refrained from doing so.
He said that when the PTI was in power, the then-opposition took out three long marches against the government but "we didn't stop anyone."
PTI chief Imran Khan lashed out at the PML-N and the PPP during his address. He stated that the two parties committed massive corruption and caused an increase in the country's loans.
He noted that the leaders from the two parties were given relief through the NRO. "People voted for me because they were fed up of them [but] the establishment decides that the time has now come to change and brings them back."
He said that the establishment was used to impose decisions on the people. "This time, they were shocked that the people did not go along with those stealing for the past 40 years."
“Establishment was taken aback when they saw that the people this time did not support their decision to topple my government,” said Imran.
Imran said the establishment is not aware of the ground realities. “Despite knowing that the people are not ready to accept this imported government, they are bent on enforcing their decision.”
Khan, while recalling the political events in the country in the last six months, said that the govt never loses any confidence vote because it had resources.
“The cipher came; Donald Lu threatened the ambassador that if Imran Khan is not removed the country will face difficulties. Then, money was used to buy the loyalties of our lawmakers.
“The PTI took a principled decision to not take part in this auction because if we use the government’s money, it will mean stealing the money of the nation and the people,” he said.
“After this, the government is removed people thought that now PTI grave has been dug and Imran is gone forever but Pakistani nation does what it never did before.”
He said that when the PTI was in power, the then-opposition took out three long marches against the government but "we didn't stop anyone."
He accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and said that the body was involved with the incumbent government to sideline the PTI.
"In the July 17 byelection, the ECP resorted to all sorts of rigging tactics," he alleged.
Imran Khan said that his party wasn't "made by the establishment" like the PPP and the PML-N. He asserted that he came into power with the people's support.
"The way the people supported me, I was surprised when we announced a long march on May 25. They staged three marches during our tenure. We thought the law and Constitution permitted us to stage a protest."
We thought they would give us permission because we have given them permission, he said. But instead, they subjected our workers and leaders to violence.
"They shelled families in Islamabad, they thought the party would end but they didn't understand the [sentiments of the] nation because when decisions are made in closed rooms, you don't know what is happening."
Khan has said that Pakistan’s own agencies were not allowing democratic processes to continue.
“During the by-elections in July, all the state machinery was used; rigging was done, but PTI swept the elections.
“What happens next is that more pressure and threats were given. A handler came in Islamabad and he said that he will show how to straighten them out,” Imran alleged.
“More strictness started on media and journalists favouring PTI. Our MPAs are approached, scared and threatened to abandon me, they threatened to release inappropriate videos and blackmailed them.”
Khan has alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was "used" to disqualify him in the Toshakhana reference.
"The entire record of the Toshakhana is with the Toshakhana. There is no room for stealing [and] they disqualified me in that," he said, adding that the objective was to make a level-playing field on "Nawaz's orders".
"They're comparing me with someone who has billions of properties abroad."
He stated that the party would approach the court against the ECP's decision to disqualify him, claiming that Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja was a "servant of the Sharif family."
Khan has said that the nation would never forget the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif.
“What was done with Arshad Sharif, this nation will never forgive, everyone knew he couldn’t be sold or scared; he ran away and I know who was after him.
“Journalists and his family know why he had to leave and go beyond Dubai. Everyone knows his martyrdom is the most disheartening turn in this country,” the PTI chief added.
Khan has claimed that four people plotted to kill him. He stated that the "handlers" were taking the decisions at the back but the people were turning out to his rallies in record numbers.
"Four people plotted to kill me. I made a video and named those people and have stashed it abroad," he said, adding that it would be released in case something happens.
He indicated that he received the information of this plot through the relationships he had formed while in power.
Khan has said that the nation can’t be fooled and it has proved this in the recent by-polls.
“Who are the favourites today? The lifafay have lost all their credibility. Just look at whose viewership is on the top today. The nation is giving a message again and again.
“A society can’t be fooled all the time. The nation is aware and it is showing this in the elections. I contested 9 seats to prove a point and won 8 out of them,” Imran said.
But, he added, they still don’t realise this. “They just somehow want to disqualify Imran Khan […] malign him and prove him to be like the rest. They want to prove that all politicians are the same.”
Khan has alleged that the “government and its handlers” had planned to get him murdered in the same way former Punjab governor Salman Taseer was killed.
“Firstly, they accused me of blasphemy […] they made tapes and released them and PMLN projected it, I knew who was doing it.
“It is very easy to find out because this is a digital world. So first it was projected that I disrespected religion and then their plan was what they did in Wazirabad […] that a religious extremist killed Imran Khan,” the PTI chief claimed.
Imran said that he had already narrated this plan to the public during a September 24 rally. “This [the attempted assassination] happened exactly according to the script.”
Former premier said that three others, separate from the ones who ha had named in a tape stashed abroad, had plotted to kill him.
"How did I find out? Insiders told me. The day before Wazirabad, they made the plan to kill me as they saw the number of people increasing using the script of religious extremism."
He said Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a senior military commander plotted to kill him.
PTI chief Imran Khan described the attack on his life in Wazirabad. He said he was on the container when a "burst of bullets" was directed at him, causing him to get shot in the leg and fall down.
"Then a second burst comes, there were two people." He said that if the two bullet sprays had been synchronized, he would not have survived.
"Because I fell down, I think he [the shooter] thought I had died and fled."
He noted that one suspect, claiming to be an extremist, had been arrested. "He is not an extremist. There was a plan behind the attempt [and] we will uncover it."
Earlier, Dr Faisal Sultan detailed the injuries former premier Imran sustained in the attempt on his life. Showing x-rays of Imran's right leg, he said that the tibia was damaged and was in fact fractured.
"In this scan, the line you see on the right leg is the main artery. The bullet fragments were very near it."