The ex-wife of Imran Khan slammed the Pakistani Prime Minister on Tuesday soon after the speech he delivered in connection with the Pulwama terror attack.
Reham Khan, who was married to the cricketer-turned-politician for less than 10 months in 2015, said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief had to take instructions from some “think tanks” in Pakistan.
She said that he was a puppet of the country’s military and has done nothing to check the rise of fundamentalism in the country.
“Imran has come into power by compromising on ideology and moderate policy. Do not imagine for a minute that it is his policy. He is instructed to do and instructed to say what the state wants,” she was quoted as saying by India Today.
Reham Khan said that Pakistan has seen the rise of new extremist religious parties during the elections and that “Imran Khan used a blasphemy card”.
Commenting on Khan’s claim that Islamabad will take action against anyone in Pakistan if India gives “actionable information”, Reham Khan said that the Pak PM has been saying what he has been “taught to”.
“If he’s saying he will take action, then he has to display and demonstrate something. We were on the way to be blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force [FATF], long before Pulwama terror attack happened,” she said.
“I think some think tanks were working on this [the speech]. I do not think this was his speech. I do think he’s been told to do these things,” she added.
She criticised Khan for not taking any step in the last 6-7 months.
Imran Khan had on Tuesday said that India was blaming his country “without evidence” and warned of retaliation against any military action.
“If you (Indian govt) think you will attack us and we will not think of retaliating, we will retaliate. We all know starting a war is in the hands of humans, where it will lead us only God knows,” he said.
“It is in our interest that nobody from our soil spreads violence. I want to tell Indian govt that we will take action if evidence is found against anyone from Pakistan ─ not because we are under pressure, but because they [any individuals found involved] are acting as enemies of Pakistan,” Khan, who is known for his closeness with the Pak military, added.
Read More: Amid tensions over Pulwama, Imran Khan says Pakistan will retaliate if India attacks
Khan stressed that “this issue should be solved through dialogue”.
He said that he would have responded to the Pulwama terror attack immediately but chose not to “divert attention” from the visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the investment conference.
The 14 February Pulwama terror attack, which killed 44 personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), was carried out by a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber. The JeM, which is based in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur, claimed responsibility soon after the attack.