Daily Times

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Sunday that only elections could take the country out of the quagmire.

The deposed premier, while addressing the nation through a video link, said that the constitution had made it clear that elections should be held within 90 days. Taking a dig at the incumbent government, he said, “These people [the rulers] are ready to violate the constitution and stand against the Supreme Court.” Imran Khan accused the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) of targeting the judiciary, and said that the chief justice stood by the constitution.

Speaking about the doctrine of necessity, Imran Khan said, “The doctrine of necessity is conceived by the abolition of the constitution in a slave society.”

Expressing his concerns about inflation, he said, “Inflation is decreasing throughout the world. But, our country is witnessing an inflationary bubble.”

Citing the example of Sri Lanka, he said, “When people took to the streets in Sri Lanka, the situation in the country was not out of control.” He said the people are waiting for elections to express their anger on the rulers. He said the PDM is not ready to hold elections. The rulers are waiting till October to drag PTI to the backfoot on political grounds. Imran Khan announced public gatherings starting from May 10 to 14 to pull the country out of the ongoing political and economic crisis. The former prime minister said an “emergency plan” has been prepared to rescue the country from the prevailing political turmoil.

Referring to the constitution, he said, “Elections should be held within 90 days. The chief justice of the country is standing with the constitution, while the Pakistan Democratic Movement is openly attacking the Supreme Court.” He referred to a recent report from Bloomberg, which highlighted that Pakistan’s economic situation was worse than that of Sri Lanka, with inflation rates higher in Pakistan. He underscored that a strong government with public support could lead the country out of its economic chaos.

The former prime minister also criticised the country’s former army chief, Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, stating that “Mir Sadiq” would be a small title for him as he had harmed Pakistan more than any enemy.

Imran alleged that Gen (retd) Bajwa had imposed corrupt individuals on Pakistan who had no stake in the country, and over 60% of the current federal cabinet was on bail in corruption cases when they were given government positions. The PTI chief stated that these imported rulers had done nothing for the country and its people and had only removed their names from the Exit Control List (ECL) as their wealth and assets were in foreign lands.

Imran thanked the people of Pakistan for showing solidarity with Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and standing up for the supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law in the country.

He criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on visits to the UK and India, respectively, causing humiliation for the nation. Imran commented on the ruling coalition’s proposal to hold elections in October, stating that the government was seeking more time to make cases and arrest more PTI members.

He alleged that the “corrupt” Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had illegally imposed the governments of Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the guise of caretaker setups. He also accused Islamabad IG Police of corruption and working as a personal “servant” of the prime minister. Earlier in the day, Imran Khan urged the ticket holders from Lahore to speed up the election campaign.

The ticket holders from Lahore participated in the meeting presided over by the deposed prime minister, in which issues related to the election campaign for the Punjab Assembly elections were discussed. Imran Khan directed the ticket holders to intensify the election campaign through rallies and door-to-door campaigns in their respective constituencies. He urged the ticket holders to spread PTI’s narrative to as many people as possible.