Imran Khan, chairman of the PTI, addressed on Yaum-i-Tashakkur and said that people would take to the streets if the ruling coalition attempted to obstruct the implementation of the court order mandating May 14 elections in Punjab.
The former prime minister spoke during a televised address commemorating Yaum-i-Tashakkur after the apex court’s ruling ordered general elections in Punjab.
The address was transmitted via satellite link from his Zaman Park residence to mega displays installed in 75 locations across the country, including 13 cities in Punjab.
Despite the rain, the event’s main gathering was at the Liberty roundabout in Lahore, where PTI supporters gathered. Some sported PTI-themed headbands and shawls, while others carried party flags.
The former prime minister told his supporters, “The nation must wait for my call to ensure that the incumbent rulers cannot avoid holding elections; otherwise, neither history nor future generations will forgive this generation for failing to wage jihad against the forces undermining the rule of law.”
He stated that “the Sicilian mafia” was now opposing the Supreme Court’s decision, which had previously ruled in their favor and reversed the PTI’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly after midnight court openings.
The former prime minister stated that ‘absconder’ Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari decided Pakistan’s fate from London and Dubai, respectively. He claimed that the incumbent authorities also attempted to splinter the Supreme Court and sow discord between the PTI and the establishment, which “might repeat the events of 1971.”
When asked what kind of economic and security stability could be ensured by October to conduct elections, Mr. Khan stated that only elections could lead Pakistan out of the dead end it was rapidly descending into. “I will complete interviews and candidate selection within 10 days,” he said, adding that the incumbent rulers would not be allowed to evade elections.
In an interview with Al Jazeera conducted before his speech, the PTI chairman alleged that the ruling PDM could contravene the Constitution to thwart the upcoming national elections. Mr. Khan asserted, “They are so afraid of the elections that they are willing to violate the Constitution.”
The government would violate the Constitution by refusing to recognize the Supreme Court’s decision. In such a scenario, he said, the Supreme Court could charge them with contempt of court.
Mr. Khan disclosed that he had met twice with former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss the logistics of holding elections. “What I didn’t realize was that he wanted an election on the condition that he received a term extension,” he said, adding that he has had no contact with the establishment since then.
In response to a question regarding his intentions to restructure the civil-military relationship if re-elected, the PTI chairman stated that Pakistan required change. “The current civil-military imbalance must be corrected if Pakistan is to emerge from this mess,” he asserted.
“You cannot have a system in which the prime minister is responsible for implementing policies but lacks the authority to do so because that authority is shared with the military,” the PTI leader remarked.
