Imran deviates significantly from the established norms.
The leader of the PTI has accused the government of attempting to postpone elections.
Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), stressed on Thursday that he did not need the government and simply want new elections for the nation.
The former prime minister urged the Supreme Court to support the Constitution in light of the current administration’s efforts to stall elections and undermine democracy in an interview with BBC Urdu and while speaking at a news conference via video link.
Imran stated in the interview that those who got support from others did not require crutches. “I don’t need crutches; I just want elections in this nation, and for that, I’m willing to talk to anyone.”
The PTI chairman claimed that he was asked if he would speak to the establishment if they were interested. I declared that since I am a politician, I will speak with everyone—except thieves. He stated that neither the army chief nor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ever been called to a meeting.
Despite claims to the contrary, he claimed, “I don’t need the establishment” and denied wanting to speak with the army leader. “The party that has the people’s support does not require crutches,” he continued.
He responded, “It didn’t make any difference to us. When questioned if the change in military command had any impact on the mentality of the establishment. Charges were brought against us while Gen. (ret.) Qamar Javed Bajwa was in office.
The president also announced the date, according to the PTI chairman, but the current ruling class wanted to postpone the poll under the guise of turmoil. The Supreme Court had ordered elections within 90 days.
“The police showed up when we had an election rally. Water cannons were deployed, cars were vandalised, and people were detained. Elections are the caretaker government’s responsibility, but how could they be held without election campaigns and rallies?
He reminded that the PTI had triumphed in 37 by-elections recently. He claimed that as a result, the government parties feared and desired that the elections be called off. He continued, “They wanted turmoil [to prevent the elections].
“They are offering a variety of justifications for why the election shouldn’t take place. They are attempting to evade the elections in some way. I worry that they’ll assassinate a prominent figure like Benazir Bhutto, the PTI leader alleged.
“I won the 2018 election because the country has turned against the ruling parties. They want me to be declared ineligible or sent to prison so that they can win this election now that inflation has occurred and these parties are dead.
Imran urged the Supreme Court to preserve the law at the press conference, saying that the rulers were trying to postpone the polls because they were aware that public opinion had shifted against them.
He said that the administration would offer justifications such as financial constraints or census issues. “They might assassinate a significant individual or create a law and order scenario through terrorism so they could generate grounds to delay the elections,” he claimed.
The PTI leader called the ruling alliance a “mafia” and warned that they would attempt to splinter the judiciary. He emphasised, however, that the judiciary had the support of the entire country and was looked to for justice.
Imran claimed that the authorities were use all legal means to have him imprisoned in order to prevent him from mounting a successful election campaign. He claimed that the violence on Wednesday in Lahore was also a plot to stop the PTI from running in the elections.
He criticised the authorities for the police onslaught on the PTI in Lahore and claimed that their unlawful acts undermined democracy. He claimed that the officers who carried out the atrocities on May 25, 2022 in Islamabad were also involved in the crackdown.
He consequently questioned the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa caretaker governments’ objectivity. The Punjab government, he continued, was set on defeating the PTI “for which it had been recruited”.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which nominated “an anti-PTI” interim establishment, would suffer as a result, in his opinion. He advised the ECP to hire judges as election officials.
“If we want to lead the country out of the current crisis, the current urgent position of the country requires that the ECP run free and fair elections. He cautioned that if we don’t fulfil our jobs, anarchy would spread throughout the nation.
“So, do not permit the discredited caretaker setups to appoint the ROs [from the bureaucracy], whose primary purpose is to rig the elections; ask the courts to depute its employees as ROs [returning officers],” he continued.
In the meantime, the PTI leader described Wednesday’s violence as a follow-up to May 25, 2022, while adding that the government wanted elections after having him incarcerated or barred from politics.
Castrating his political rivals, he asserted that the ruling class intended to target the chief justice after dividing the judiciary. We wouldn’t allow this strategy to be successful, he continued.
He also criticised Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), claiming that they were raised on money that was obtained illegally.
