Addressing a public meeting at Manki Sharif in Nowshera district, the defence minister said that the incumbent government would not survive if he doesn't want it to. "The Opposition respects me which is why I also show regard to parliamentarians," said Khattak. "No one can cheat me when it comes to politics," he said, adding that Imran Khan's government would not last a single day if he doesn't want it to.
However, Khattak said that the Prime Minister has bestowed a lot of favours on him and that he is with the Premier all the way. The former KP chief minister turned his guns towards the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), accusing it of trying to pressurise the government to hide their corruption. Khattak blamed opposition parties for having a hand in the inflationary situation that Pakistan is currently struggling with, saying that it is the predecessor governments' policies that have brought Pakistan to its current state of affairs.
He said that an artificial alliance of the opposition parties to protect their corruption will soon meet its logical end. He said the opposition parties' alliance has been rejected by the masses due to its negative and personal interest politics. He said the nation is fully cognisant of the fact today as to who looted the country's exchequer for their personal gains in the past and who put Pakistan on the road to progress and development.
He said the government would complete its five years constitutional term and election would be held in 2023. Khattak said local governments at district and tehsil level and village councils would be set up and drafted for amendment in the Local Government Amended Act 2019 would soon be passed from the Assembly.
On the occasion, noted political workers of the area joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and expressed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
A few hours after Khattak's aforementioned statement started doing the rounds on social media, the defence minister took to Twitter to issue a clarification. “Clearly mentioned in my speech for the locals of my village in Nowshera that I’m sincere & indebted to Imran Khan. We are successful in our constituency due to our efforts & support of IK. We will defeat all opposition parties ganged up against the candidate we are supporting for the by-election,” he tweeted. TLTP