17 May 2004	Monday	26 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

WASHINGTON, May 16: By winter 2006, there will be fresh elections in Pakistan under a new president, Imran Khan told a briefing in Washington on Sunday.

The Tehrik-e-Insaf chief reviewed the entire political spectrum in Pakistan at a breakfast meeting with Pakistani journalists, emphasizing the need for reforms to save the country form further chaos and uncertainty.

Imran Khan warned that there was a major political vacuum in the country and any event could trigger an unrest which could undo the entire system. "The government is unpopular, people are unhappy, and the regional situation is volatile. Even the slightest provocation can start an uprising," he warned.

The situation in Iraq, he said, was also having a major impact on the people of Pakistan, "and this reflects in the large anti-war rallies held across the country."

Mr Khan attributed MMA's victory in the past elections to the anti-American sentiments prevalent in the Pashtun areas of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although government agencies did play a role in putting together the alliance, MMA's victory was the result of an anti-American wave sweeping the entire region, he said.

"Since PPP and PML-N were reluctant to condemn the US military action in Afghanistan, they failed to benefit from these sentiments." Mr Khan underlined three main areas where reforms were urgently needed: judiciary, education and agriculture.

Mr Khan also emphasized the need for land reforms but said that land reforms alone cannot change the coercive environment that exists in the rural areas. "Unless our farmers are freed of this fear of coercion, no political reforms will succeed and only an independent judiciary can free them of this fear."