Leave Pakistan, if you like India so much: Opp leader to PM Imran Khan

Islamabad, Apr 9: Pakistan's Opposition leader Maryam Nawaz on Saturday lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan for lavishing praise on India, saying he should go to the neighbouring country if he likes it so much. The remarks of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam, who is the daughter of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, came after Khan called India a "natican on with a great sense of honour".

Prime Minister Khan, in an address to the nation on Friday night ahead of the no-trust motion where he has little chances of surviving unless some miracle takes place, said that he was not against India and had a lot of following in the neighbouring country. "No superpower can force India to do anything against its interests. They (India) are buying oil from Russia despite sanctions. "Nobody can dictate India. What the European Union ambassadors said here, could they say that to India also?" he asked and added that they could not because India is a sovereign nation.

Responding to his remarks, Maryam said that Khan has "gone mad". "Someone should tell a person who has gone mad after seeing this power gone that he has been expelled by his own party and no one else. "If you like India so much then shift there and leave the life of Pakistan," the 48-year-old PML-N leader said. This was not the first time when Prime Minister Khan has praised India to the surprise of Opposition parties. Last week, he praised India for its independent foreign policy.

"They protect their independent foreign policy which is centred on its people," he had said. The 69-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, who has effectively lost the majority in the 342-member house, seemed to accept the writing on the wall and urged his supporters to stage peaceful protests across the country when the "new imported government" comes into power on Sunday. Khan faces the possibility of being the first premier in the country's history to be voted out in a no-trust motion. No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office.

Meanwhile, the Opposition has completed its initial talks for the formation of a new government once Prime Minister Khan is ousted. Plans are afoot for the removal of President Alvi and the return of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif from the UK, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Friday. Shehbaz, 70, who is the Opposition's candidate for the new prime minister, will announce his possible government priorities after taking the oath. All Opposition parties will be given proportional representation in the new possible federal government. PTI