Election campaign
\nToning down his rhetoric, PTI chief offers to \u201cmend fences with everyone\u201d
\n Islamabad
\nPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said Saturday that he is ready to \u201cforgive\u201d those who had orchestrated an \u201cattack\u201d against him \u2014 in November last year \u2014 as he launched the election campaign in two provinces \u2014 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
\nKhan was shot in the legs on November 3 as he waved to crowds from a truck-mounted container while leading a protest march to Islamabad to pressure the government into announcing an early election.
\nThe rally was cut short in Rawalpindi, where Khan announced his plan of dissolving the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies \u2014 which materialised last month. The PTI chief \u2014 whose government was overthrown in April last year \u2014 had blamed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and a military officer for being involved in the alleged assassination plot.
\nEver since his ouster, the PTI chief has kept criticising the military, the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government, and other institutions for being involved in an alleged plot to remove his party from power. But toning down his rhetoric in a speech to workers via video link, the deposed prime minister \u2014 who has called incumbent rulers \u201cdacoits\u201d \u2014said he was ready to \u201cmend fences with everyone\u201d.
\n\u2018Fresh elections are the sole solution\u2019
\nThe general elections in Punjab are scheduled for April 30, while the date for the polls in KP is yet to be announced as Governor Ghulam Ali has not made a decision yet.
\nIn light of the SC\u2019s split ruling, President Arif Alvi had announced the date for the Punjab polls after consulting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). But the KP governor is yet to \u201copen\u201d the letter that the ECP has sent to his office.<\/p>\n
Speaking to his party workers and the nation, Khan reiterated that fresh elections are the sole solution to the prevailing crisis being faced by the country.<\/p>\n
Lauding the Supreme Court, the deposed prime minister said that the apex court took action as the governors and the Election Commission of Pakistan did not announce a date for the general elections in Punjab and KP.<\/p>\n
\u201c74 cases have been registered against me so far,\u201d Khan said, adding that the establishment had asked his party workers and leaders to join the PML-N as they had marked a cross on him.<\/p>\n
Stressing the need for fresh elections, Khan said that instability would not end until a public-mandated government is elected in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the Supreme Court verdict, I was sure that they would conduct general elections. Polls are the first step towards getting out of this quagmire,\u201d he said adding that political stability will come from elections and economic stability will follow.<\/p>\n
People\u2019s confidence, Khan said, will increase when a government comes into power with a public mandate.<\/p>\n
Dollar racing to Rs300<\/p>\n
Khan went on to claim that the PDM-led government had their Rs11 billion worth of cases dismissed. \u201cIn our tenure, [National Accountability Bureau] NAB recovered Rs480 billion. Around Rs11 billion more was to be recovered, but they changed the NAB law,\u201d he said while adding that NAB\u2019s only job now is to take action against the opposition.<\/p>\n
Commenting on regime change, Khan said that when his government was being toppled, he made the then-army chief understand that it would \u201cbring instability in the county\u201d.<\/p>\n
Firing fresh broadside at the ruling government for ruining the state of the economy in the country, Khan said: \u201cAt present, inflation is at its highest in Pakistan\u2019s history. They are now afraid of the election because of what they have done with the country. I\u2019ve known them for the last 30 years, they cannot control the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former premier said that there was inflation around the world when his party was in government during COVID-19. He went on to lament the country\u2019s brain drain due to a lack of economic opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cAround 0.8 million professionals have left the country. Such is the level of despair. On one hand, there is inflation, while unemployment is increasing on the other hand,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n
The cricketer-turned-politician asserted that there won\u2019t be stability in the country unless a government with a public mandate comes into power.<\/p>\n
Sharing fears about the dollar rates increasing, the PTI chairman said: \u201cThere was a lot of noise about bringing the dollar below Rs200. It is feared that it will reach Rs300.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Election campaign Toning down his rhetoric, PTI chief offers to \u201cmend fences with everyone\u201d Islamabad Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said Saturday that he is ready to \u201cforgive\u201d those who had orchestrated an \u201cattack\u201d against him \u2014 in November last year \u2014 as he launched the election campaign in two provinces \u2014 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2833,158],"class_list":{"0":"post-317506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-imran-khan","9":"tag-pti"},"yoast_head":"\n