• Imran wants MNAs to push National Assembly speaker to accept their resignations
• Asks ‘establishment’ to become neutral, also wants judiciary, army to ‘lead country to credible elections’
• Claims Gen Bajwa asked him not to hold Sharifs accountable, focus on economy instead

LAHORE: While declaring that on Saturday he will announce the “final date” for dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan instructed all MNAs of his party to appear in the National Assembly to ask the speaker to accept their resignations.

With the two provincial assemblies disbanded and the resignations of the MNAs verified and accepted, Mr Khan believed, almost 70 per cent of the country’s population would go to polls and wisdom suggested that general elections across the country should be announced to end the political instability and help the country economically rise again.

The country would face anarchy if free and fair elections were not held, he remarked, adding he had completed consultations with his party leadership from the top to grassroots levels.

Party leader Senator Faisal Javed Khan had tweeted on Dec 8 that “11 days left” for the decision to dissolve the two provincial assemblies.

In an address via video link after consulting the senior party leadership from his Zaman Park residence on Wednesday, Mr Khan, on the one hand, asked the “establishment” to become neutral, stressing he was not looking for any help from them anymore, while on the other he asked the judiciary and the army to drive the country towards free, fair and credible general elections for the sake of the country and the nation.

Stressing the country needed a strong army, the PTI chief said this would only be possible if the institution became neutral and stopped interfering in politics.

Continuing his tirade against retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Mr Khan alleged the former army chief unleashed torture against the leadership of the country’s “largest” political party, but gave “NRO-II” (the term he uses to refer to relief in corruption cases) to the Sharifs.

“Even in my days in the PM House, Gen Bajwa used to say do not go into accountability of the Sharifs and only focus on the country’s economy,” he said, adding the economy of a country could not grow in the absence of justice.

He claimed Senator Azam Swati was victimised over a mere tweet against Gen Bajwa, journalist Arshad Sharif was killed and anchorperson Jamil Farooqi and PTI leader Shahbaz Gill were tortured.

“An attempt on my life was made to silence me,” he remarked, adding the condition of human rights in Pakistan was no better than that in India-held Kashmir — referring to the alleged excesses committed under Gen Bajwa. “Even an enemy could not do to Pakistan what the former army chief did,” he lashed out.

About early elections, Mr Khan was apprehensive that the “criminals” currently ruling the country would not want that because their lives would not be affected by any catastrophe the country faced. “They will run away from the country and lead comfortable lives abroad where they have stashed all the looted public wealth,” he lamented.

He further claimed the country was heading towards a default and national security could be at stake as the nations helping Pakistan in its tough times could ask for “unimaginable costs”.

“I fear that the country is being driven towards a default by design and conspiracy,” he stated, and explained that the corruption cases of public wealth looters were being closed in a way that didn’t even happen in a Banana Republic where ‘might is right’ is the law.

The PTI chief claimed former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf gave NRO-I to the Sharif family and became instrumental in increasing the country’s debt four times, and now Gen Bajwa gave NRO-II and ensured that all corrupt members of the Sharif and Zardari families were “dry-cleaned”.

“These looters are now hoping to get a third chance to loot and plunder the country yet again,” he added, asserting that all those powerful should consider the country’s deteriorating conditions in terms of the sinking economy and lack of trust of investors at home and abroad.

As the PTI would dissolve the Punjab and KP assemblies, he maintained, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would as per law be required to hold elections within 90 days.

About the Toshakhana reference against him, the PTI chairman said a “partisan” Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja was busy instituting references against him, claiming all these cases would be thrown out as soon as they reached the superior judiciary. “Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif illegally drove away three and one expensive vehicles, respectively from the Toshakhana, but the ECP was not questioning them,” he rued.

Mr Khan said the Supreme Court had asked the ECP to hear the foreign funding cases of the PTI, PML-N and PPP simultaneously, but the CEC did not follow the orders. “In the courts, it will be revealed that the PTI has the most credible foreign funding system with the support of 40,000 registered donors,” he added.

The PTI chairman is scheduled to address the country’s youth on Thursday (today) to involve students in his ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ movement.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2022