Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran’s party to quit all assemblies
ISLAMABAD: At the culmination of his long march, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Saturday that his Pakistani Tehreek-i-Insaf would quit all provincial assemblies, a move intended to intensify pressure on the beleaguered government to call snap polls.
Speaking to hundreds of thousands of supporters in rawalpindi in his first public appearance after being shot in the leg during a rally in Wazirabad, Pakistan Punjab, three weeks ago, the President of the PTI announced: “We will not march towards Islamabad because I do not want to sow chaos and anarchy in the country. But we decided not to stay in this system. We have decided to leave all assemblies and get out of this corrupt system.
The Khan-led PTI is in government in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Khan said he has discussed the issue of resignation from all assemblies with all chief ministers and the final decision in this regard will be announced after the PTI parliamentary party meeting.
Imran said his party did not come to Rawalpindi for elections or politics, but because the country needed new elections.
Khan again alleged that “three criminals” were waiting to make another assassination attempt. The former prime minister had accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and ISI Major General Faisal Naseer of plotting the attack against him in Wazirabad. “Fear turns an entire nation into slaves. You should not be intimidated by threats or violence,” he told his supporters behind a bulletproof glass shield.
Khan admitted he had failed during his tenure as prime minister to bring the powerful under law, saying they were protected by powerful quarters, a reference to the military establishment.
Imran said Pakistan’s history will attest that he kept fighting until the last ball for Pakistan. “I also want to say that those who have seen their wealth increase massively (veiled reference to General Qamar Javed Bajwa) and flouted the rights of the nation… history also looks to him and writes what he has done with the country.
Khan’s long march had started from Lahore on October 28 but stopped after the attack on him. Prior to the Rawalpindi rally, he had addressed supporters daily via video links.
Speaking to hundreds of thousands of supporters in rawalpindi in his first public appearance after being shot in the leg during a rally in Wazirabad, Pakistan Punjab, three weeks ago, the President of the PTI announced: “We will not march towards Islamabad because I do not want to sow chaos and anarchy in the country. But we decided not to stay in this system. We have decided to leave all assemblies and get out of this corrupt system.
The Khan-led PTI is in government in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Khan said he has discussed the issue of resignation from all assemblies with all chief ministers and the final decision in this regard will be announced after the PTI parliamentary party meeting.
Imran said his party did not come to Rawalpindi for elections or politics, but because the country needed new elections.
Khan again alleged that “three criminals” were waiting to make another assassination attempt. The former prime minister had accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and ISI Major General Faisal Naseer of plotting the attack against him in Wazirabad. “Fear turns an entire nation into slaves. You should not be intimidated by threats or violence,” he told his supporters behind a bulletproof glass shield.
Khan admitted he had failed during his tenure as prime minister to bring the powerful under law, saying they were protected by powerful quarters, a reference to the military establishment.
Imran said Pakistan’s history will attest that he kept fighting until the last ball for Pakistan. “I also want to say that those who have seen their wealth increase massively (veiled reference to General Qamar Javed Bajwa) and flouted the rights of the nation… history also looks to him and writes what he has done with the country.
Khan’s long march had started from Lahore on October 28 but stopped after the attack on him. Prior to the Rawalpindi rally, he had addressed supporters daily via video links.
