Home Latest News Imran Khan Reiterates Demand for Early Elections

Imran Khan Reiterates Demand for Early Elections

by Staff Report

File photo. Arif Ali—AFP

PTI chairman, who was ousted as prime minister over the weekend, urges public to join him for inaugural campaign rally in Peshawar

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday reiterated his demand for early general elections after the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s Shahbaz Sharif was elected the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan.

“On Wednesday [April 13], I will be holding a jalsa in Peshawar after Isha [prayers]—my first jalsa after being removed through a foreign-instigated regime change,” he said in a posting on Twitter in which he reiterated as-yet-unproven allegations of a “foreign conspiracy” behind the no-confidence motion that ousted him from power. “I want all our people to come, as Pakistan was created as an independent, sovereign state, not as a puppet state of foreign powers,” he added.

In a subsequent post, he added: “We are demanding immediate elections as that is the only way forward—to let the people decided, through fair and free elections, whom they want as their prime minister.”

The announcement was posted just a few hours after Shahbaz Sharif was elected the Prime Minister of Pakistan by 174 members of the Lower House of Parliament. The PTI boycotted the process after announcing that it would resign en masse from the National Assembly. However, despite announcing their intent to resign on the floor of the House, the PTI has yet to submit their resignations to the National Assembly Secretariat.

Prior the elections, in a national televised address while prime minister, Khan had said that he did not “accept or recognize” the new government led by Sharif, adding that he would protest against it.

On Sunday night, thousands of PTI supporters across Pakistan staged rallies in major cities and villages, demanding early elections that they believe would ensure Khan’s return to power. Alongside criticism of the former opposition parties, the protesters also directed their ire at the security establishment, accusing the Chief of Army Staff of “facilitating” the ouster of the PTI chairman.

The PTI has also announced that after Peshawar, Khan would stage a rally in Karachi on Sunday, April 17.

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