Imran sees elections by year-end, asks supporters to start preparations

PTI chief says Nawaz Sharif has come out in open defiance of judiciary

ISLAMABAD: On the eve of the PML-N’s GT Road rally, PTI chief Imran Khan foresees early elections in the country and has directed his supporters to begin preparations.

“If the PML-N is bent upon saving one family and hiding its corruption, and has planned the rally, then I see early elections taking place,” Imran told reporters after chairing a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) at a local hotel on Tuesday.

“I have given directives to the CEC to prepare for elections [which may take place] in November or December and I invited the party members here to thank them for their relentless efforts in the Panamagate case,” he said.

He said they also discussed the post-Panamagate verdict phase and the strategy for the upcoming elections.

“I have told them to prepare for the elections,” said the PTI chief, adding that this time he would himself monitor allocations of party tickets alongside the selection committee.

“Seats to women will be given with care in the backdrop of Ayesha Gulalai allegations,” he said.



Replying to a question about former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s rally, Imran asked, “Do they mean to garner support of the people to justify corruption and theft in the country?”

He said he thought that the PML-N would distance itself from the Sharif family’s corruption after the Supreme Court verdict, “but it seems like a deliberate effort on their behalf to discredit a supreme institution of the country”.

“Now the army has also made a clear-cut statement about standing by the Constitution and we stand by the army and the judiciary,” he said, adding that the statements by Sharif were similar to the ones the Indian PM had been using against Pakistan.

“Is the PML-N setting a tradition of refusing to accept the verdict of the apex court?” he asked.

He also announced a party rally in Rawalpindi on August 13, saying that he had directed his supporters to avoid confrontation with the N-leaguers at all costs.