Imran Khan demands re-polling in Malir, Karachi | Asks govt to announce elections or get ready for long march
ISLAMABAD
Accusing the Sindh government of openly rigging Sunday’s by-election in Malir, Karachi, former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday demanded the Election of Pakistan (ECP) to hold reelection in the constituency.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he reminded the ECP that a few years ago, the by-election was held again in Daska on its orders. Imran said that despite the fact that all parties, part of the coalition government, had contested Sunday’s by-polls together, still they were rejected by the people of Pakistan.
“Earlier, they had been spurned by the people of Punjab in the by-elections on July 17, 2022,” he said, and added now they had again been rejected in this ‘referendum’. Imran Khan has also asked the coalition government to announce elections or he would begin long march towards Islamabad.
The former premier said he was giving some more time to the coalition government to announce elections but warned that he would not delay the long march beyond October.
Imran Khan said he was giving time to the government for the sake of the country. “They (government) still have time to announce elections, and if they don’t, I will begin my march towards Islamabad and my preparations are almost complete,” he warned.
The PTI Chairman added that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah won’t even know what hit him, such is my preparation. He also ruled out any dialogues with the ruling elite, saying: “There’s no negotiation with criminals. You can hold reconciliation talks with Baloch or Sindhi nationalists, but not with the felons like them.”
Imran said that the PTI planned to approach international organisations to bring to their notice the brutal treatment being meted out to its leaders like Senator Azam Swati and Shehbaz Gill here in Pakistan.
“It is so unfortunate that the Senate chairman did not produce production orders for Swati. We are now mulling moving the Supreme Court of Pakistan over the issue,” he disclosed.
He was of the view there was no point in talking to the PML-N and PPP leadership, because whenever talks were held, they demanded that they be given ‘clean chit’ (NRO) in their corruption cases.
The former premier said that already so much relief had been given to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in corruption cases that now it appeared that he would acquitted in all these cases.
