PESHAWAR: PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday said his party’s upcoming long march on Islamabad would be “the final one”, after which there will be fair and transparent general elections.

“The plan is only in kaptan’s [Mr Khan’s] mind and no one knows about it yet,” he told a joint convention of the Insaf Student Federation and youth.

Criticising Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Mr Khan said he teargassed peaceful protesters, including women and children, when the PTI marched on Islamabad in May.

However, he warned that this time no police, tear gas, rubber bullets, or even Rangers would be able to stop the protesters as the party will come to the capital “with full preparation”.

Predicts next audio leak to be about CEC; calls Dar’s return ‘result of a deal, NRO’

He once again asked the crowd to be fully prepared for the march and wait for his call and urged them to visit schools, universities and go door-to-door to mobilise people for the march.

Talking about the string of leaked audios surfacing from Prime Minister Office, he claimed that the next leak would concern the chief election commissioner.

“Another audio leak will be released soon in which the daughter [Maryam Nawaz] tells her father [Nawaz Sharif] that the Chief Election Commissoner has assured that Imran Khan will be disqualified in the Toshakhana case,” said Mr Khan while addressing another event, organised by local traders.

Referring to the return of PML-N leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar, Mr Khan said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived from the US on Monday night along with an absconder.

“The absconder who plundered money from the country and when the NAB questioned him he ran away in the prime minister’s plane.”

The PTI chairman claimed that Mr Dar has returned after making a deal and he was given an NRO — a reference to not prosecute him under cases of corruption against him.

Censuring the government over falling exports, he said no country could achieve prosperity without exports, and China, Indonesia and Malaysia have become richer by increasing their exports. He reiterated that when his government was ousted from power in March, the economy was improving at an unprecedented speed.

Back then, Pakistan was moving towards economic prosperity, but now the government “imposed through a conspiracy” has tanked everything, Mr Khan claimed.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2022