ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has blamed Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi for Pakistan’s early exit from the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Speaking through his sister Aleema Khan and PTI lawyers Salman Akram Raja and Faisal Chaudhry outside Adiala Jail on Tuesday, they shared Imran’s deep disappointment over the national cricket team’s performance.
Imran expressed that Naqvi played a major role in the decline of cricket in Pakistan, citing Naqvi’s multiple positions in the government and his alleged failure in each one. “No one in Pakistan holds as many positions as Mohsin Naqvi, yet he has failed repeatedly,” Aleema Khan quoted Imran as saying. She added that Imran believed Naqvi’s leadership style had been detrimental, with the cricket team suffering due to the destruction of merit under his administration.
Faisal Chaudhry further emphasized that Naqvi’s poor handling of cricket affairs was a key reason behind Pakistan’s disappointing performance. “A respectable person would resign after such failures, but this has not happened,” he added.
Aleema Khan also mentioned that Imran had instructed PTI members to be the sole spokespersons regarding his views, reiterating that former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri’s comments on Imran’s health were unfounded. She reassured the public that Imran was in good health and had recently spoken to his sons.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja confirmed that Imran had spoken to his children for the fourth time in six months but had not met with his wife, Bushra Bibi. Raja also revealed that Imran had instructed PTI to write a letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, following up on a meeting with the chief justice the previous week to address ongoing concerns regarding his imprisonment.
