Lahore
Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), announced on Saturday the long-awaited final date for dissolving the two provincial assemblies where his party is leading the proceedings. The party will dissolve the assembly in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on December 23. (Friday). his hard-won political position to call for early elections.
“We’ll offer both assemblies a sacrifice… We give them up for this country… Elections will be held in 66% of Pakistan, Imran declared.
The former prime minister made this declaration while addressing party members and workers in Lahore’s Liberty Chowk via video link from his Zaman Park home, flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi and KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.
Imran khan emphasized that the constitution did not let elections be delayed for more than 90 days following an assembly’s dissolution and that he had thoroughly contacted PTI’s attorneys before abandoning the provincial power play to prompt elections.
The PTI president thanked the chief ministers for their cooperation and for “sacrificing” their separate administrations for the “betterment of the country” amid rumors that the province chiefs would put the brakes on the “risky ambitions”.
He then announced that the election campaign for his party would immediately begin.
The two prime ministers and several top party figures attended an important consultative meeting the former prime minister conducted earlier in the day
Elahi announced following the meeting that he was giving Imran his “mandate from the Punjab Assembly back to him.” He said that “rumormongers will continue to fail as before” and that Imran’s opponents’ politics “had been defeated.”
It is important to remember that Imran’s announcement of the deadline came after days of rumored negotiations to heal the thorny gap between the administration and the PTI that produced no results. Imran took a long time in his preparations before making the announcement.
At a rally in Rawalpindi last month, the PTI leader took everyone by surprise by dissolving his provincial administrations in an apparent “burn the boats” approach.
“Postpone the election”
Imran khan predicted during his address. He claimed that the coalition government only wanted to put off the election because they were afraid of losing it, not because they were trying to restore the economy.
“I believe they won’t have elections in October either. How to postpone it would be determined by the ECP chief, he continued.
“At this time, general elections are advised. However, they won’t handle the voting; instead, we will hold our elections. They would attempt to delay it through the Pakistani Election Commission, but the law clearly states that polls cannot be delayed for longer than 90 days, he insisted.
Additionally, he stated that PTI would approach the Speaker of the National Assembly to request that he accept the resignation of all PTI lawmakers. He explained, “Last time, they only elected eight constituencies, which were our weakest, to hold by-elections, but I ran in all eight seats and won seven of them.
Imran khan began his speech by criticizing the present situation of the economy and drawing contrasts between the accomplishments of his government and the current one.
He decried the nation’s continued brain drain and claimed that while economic turmoil was inflicting devastation, there was a tremendous migration of professionals and talented workers. He stated once more that “new and fair elections are required because we worry the country is sinking.”
He criticized the nation’s rising unemployment, inflation, and declining foreign investor confidence, which he said was deterring investment. “Our debt is mounting. There was only one solution, which we implemented: raising the nation’s riches. They don’t have a plan, the government.
“General Bajwa plotted to overthrow my government,”
The former prime minister said former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa was behind the attempt to topple his administration through the no-confidence resolution. The former prime minister was overthrown in a parliamentary revolt earlier this year.
“The issue is: who was responsible? Gen Bajwa is the man who needs to be blamed. Because he was the army chief, I used to avoid using his name. We did not want to disparage the troops. We need a powerful army, he declared.
Imran Khan said that Gen. Bajwa was responsible for the plot. He continued, “The [establishment] believed Dar and Shehbaz were some sorts of geniuses, and that they would run the government better than us.
Imran khan said, “After my government was overthrown, the people backed the PTI. “After the vote of no confidence, our popularity grew even stronger. Despite all this, they failed to win the by-election.
Following the audio leak, Imran said that while he was prime minister, his phone was recorded in violation of the Official Secrets Act. “Where is this taking place? It was leaked if I speak to my chief secretary.
Imran khan asserted that a poll found that 70% of the populace wanted new elections, a point he made during his second lengthy march.
He claimed that because of a tweet, PTI leader Senator Azam Swati was attacked and stripped naked. “All that as a result of a tweet that included some truth? Everyone is aware that General Bajwa donated NRO-2.
Imran khan said that while he was prime minster, he routinely requested General Bajwa, who oversaw the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), to take action against the “thieves.” “He used to tell me to put accountability aside and focus on fixing the economy. If you let these robbers go free, how can Pakistan advance? No civilization can advance until the rule of law is established. He observed, “The large thieves are damaging a country, aren’t they little?
He informed the audience, “As Prime Minister, I want to tell the public how you saved people.
“Had a conspiracy suspicion a year ago”
The former prime minister claimed that despite having corruption cases against him totaling Rs 16 billion, he predicted a plot against him a year before it was carried out and Shehbaz’s nomination for the position of prime minister.
He remarked that General Bajwa had previously stated that we would never implement accountability because we wanted continuity.
They used to be corrupt, but now General Bajwa is okay with them. Are we animals? We will follow you wherever you lead us, he continued.
He proceeded to criticize the incumbents for what he called atrocities within his party, asserting that he had never seen such bloodshed even during the martial law imposed by General (ret.) Pervaiz Musharraf.
“They murdered and tortured us. During Musharraf’s rule, they imprisoned me, although I was never present for the atrocities I experienced then.
I had a threat to my life when I left in March. I was aware that the attempt on his life would be perceived as religious extremism. I honor Bushra Bibi, who used to advise me to go since this is jihad. I return to the streets once I can walk again. For me, it is jihad, and I won’t give up.
thieves’ gang
According to Imran khan, his party has concluded that the nation will continue to deteriorate until transparent elections are held. “I had everything sold overseas. I provided an accounting. Today, Pakistan is where I am complete. I had every chance to… I lived abroad. There, I got married. He told the young people, “I may have a British passport, so never give up hope.
Imran khan expressed his concern that the “band of thieves” was destroying the nation.
“Ask any employee, farmer, or businessperson… Income and expenses differ from one another. Our industries are disappearing. Industries expanded during our leadership. Massive manufacturing increased. We had record tax revenue. Remittances reached records. Agriculture experienced a 4% growth. We gave the farmers a hand. We helped Pakistan become prosperous.
According to the PTI leader, there has been such a lack of optimism that 0.75 million Pakistanis have fled the nation in the last seven months. They included professionals such as doctors, engineers, etc. In the nation, there is a “Daku raj,” he continued.
Imran claimed that during Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif’s previous administration, Pakistan was “on the verge of default” in 2018. Nevertheless, he continued, the PTI administration was doing quite well despite difficulties like the coronavirus outbreak.
He added that during the PTI administration, there was a 5% possibility that a loan given to Pakistan would not be repaid, so today there is a 100% chance that it won’t.
“Industries are closing, and the unemployment rate is going up. Inflation is at a 50-year high. The government is not trusted by businesspeople. Our debt is expanding. Their last remaining hope is that China and the IMF will somehow provide funding. But we took the necessary steps to improve the economy. We would have stated that the elections should be held on time if the economy had been doing well.
