Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday announced his party will begin its election campaign on March 4 and end its “Jail Bharo Tehreek following the Supreme Court’s decision.
“After the verdict, we ended ‘Jail Bharo’ movement. We are starting the election campaign on Saturday,” the PTI chief said during an address via video link from Lahore. “Now, we will not let them [ruling parties] run away from the elections. The reason why they’re running away from polls is because people are not with them,” the PTI chief said referring to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
Hailing the Supreme Court verdict, the PTI chief said the nation stood with the court, and it was not a “1998- and 1999-like situation” when the PML-N allegedly “attacked” the judiciary. Imran said the five-member SC bench said the same thing that he had been saying, that the elections should be held in 90 days. He claimed the PML-N always runs away from justice, and illegally tried to control the institutions. Imran also expressed fears that even after the court decision, the elections may not be held in 90 days.
He claimed the law minister tried to divide the judiciary. He said in a country with a lot of poverty, there were separate laws for the strong and the weak strata of society. “Law and justice are connected with a country’s prosperity,” he added.
Quoting Nelson Mandela, the PTI chairman said the South African anti-apartheid champion demanded provision of justice in a bid to eliminate poverty from any nation. “Nelson Mandela did not ask for foreign loans,” he remarked. Imran Khan also claimed there would be another assassination attempt on him, as everyone was afraid that if he returned to power, they will be ‘finished’.
“I have recorded a tape containing the names of five people who want to kill me,” he claimed. “Despite the threats, I was being summoned to the courts without security in fake cases.” The PTI chairman said his party won 30 out of the 37 by-elections held since his government was ousted last April. The coalition government is trying its best not to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “It is clear in the Constitution that elections cannot be held beyond 90 days. An attempt was made not to hold the election with the help of governors,” Imran claimed.
“Democracy and institutions have been damaged so much that people no longer have confidence in them,” he claimed, and assured the Supreme Court of his support for the superior judiciary. The PTI chief said he will make every effort to ensure that nothing illegal happens and elections are held on time. Sharing his two cents on why he believed the youth ‘supports’ the PTI, Imran said this is an era of mobile phones and the youth is politically aware and exposes the lies on social media platforms.
