Imran sees elections in March or April

LAHORE:

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has predicted that the general elections could be held in the country in March or April 2023.

Speaking to a select group of journalists here at his Zaman Park residence on Saturday, Imran said the court had given time to take a vote of confidence.

On Friday, the Lahore High Court reinstated Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as the chief minister of Punjab after Governor Balighur Rehman had on Thursday ousted him for not taking a vote of confidence.

On Dec 17, Imran had announced that the Punjab Assembly would be dissolved on Dec 23 (Friday). However, in a bid to stop the dissolution, the governor had on Dec 19 ordered CM Elahi to take a vote of confidence two days ahead of the PTI chief’s deadline.

But that did not happen as Speaker Sibtain Khan said the assembly was in session and a new one could not be called as it would be unconstitutional.

The LHC reinstated Elahi as the CM on the assurance that he would not dissolve the Punjab Assembly before the next hearing on January 11.

Talking to the media persons, Imran said, “Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is on our side and I still have trust in him. Our alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) will continue because they remained steadfast with us in trying times.”

The PTI chief stressed that he would never compromise on principles to come to power. “I would never hurt the public sentiments for the government but will continue my struggle against corruption and implementation of the rule of law in the country,” he maintained.

Lashing out at the main allies of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the former prime minister said they had nothing to do with public problems and no strategy to pull the country out of the current chaos.

“They came to power to save their corruption, giving themselves NRO (amnesty) and doing horse-trading of lawmakers just to extend their rule.” However, he said, economic and political stability in the country was linked to fresh elections.

He pointed out that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had made more foreign visits than him. “If he (Bilawal) claims that he is paying expenses of these visits from his pocket … are these his private visits?” Imran questioned.
Imran highlighted that the PTI parliamentarians would show up in the National Assembly before the speaker on Monday for the verification of their resignations.

The former prime minister continued to lambaste the former army chief, claiming that Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had a deal with PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

“I came to know in the last year of my government that Gen (retd) Qamar did not want accountability in the country,” he said, adding that probably, he (Gen Qamar) was thinking that the PTI’s popularity would see a decline but that could not happen.

“I believe if a right army chief was in the office, our government would have cleaned the country of corruption,” he remarked.

Imran also alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan was “controlled” by the establishment.

To a question, the PTI chief denied any contact with the establishment, however, he indicated that President Dr Arif Alvi was in contact with the institution.

On the foreign cases, the PTI chief said contrary to other political parties in the country which did not have a single receipt of foreign funding, his party had a complete database of 40,000 donors.

On his wounds as a result of an armed attack in Wazirabad last month, Imran said he would return to the field after a month as his injuries were not yet healed properly.

An X-ray would be performed after 10 days after which “doctors will give their advice”.

Imran had been calling for early elections in the country since the fall of his government as a result of a no-confidence motion in April.

For this, he has also announced the dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies where his party is in power. However, the ruling PDM was still stuck to its stance of no snap polls in the country.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minster spokesperson and PTI leader Fayyazul Hassan Chohan on Saturday demanded action against Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman under Article 6 for violating the Constitution of Pakistan.

He said the Lahore High Court (LHC) blocked an attempt to violate the Constitution by suspending the governor’s move of de-notifying the chief minister.

The high court had reinstated the chief minister and his cabinet and binned the unconstitutional notification, he said, adding that the governor should be removed immediately for taking an unconstitutional step.

Fayyaz said the move had exposed the PDM that it could hit any low to stay in power.