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Published 20 Jun, 2012 09:35pm

PTI ready for early elections: Imran

ISLAMABAD, June 20: The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf has announced that it is getting ready for early general election, which it says is the only solution to the economic, energy and political crises facing the country because the PPP-led government simply cannot deliver despite a change of prime minister.

The PTI’s strategy committee, which met at the party’s secretariat here on Wednesday, called upon the Supreme Court to take steps for holding free, fair and transparent elections to avoid repetition of the past practice of rigging to get results in favour of a particular party.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, PTI chairman Imran Khan said even if his party was not fully prepared it would go to polls whenever called and win an outright majority in the National Assembly because youths had decided to support change.

PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Hamid Khan, Shafqat Mehmood and Jahangir Tareen also attended the press conference. Mr Khan said he was determined to hold most transparent elections within his party and join the masses to pressure the government to end loadshedding and check rising prices of essential commodities.

“Putting pressure cannot increase power generation, but it can help reduce loadshedding drastically by stopping theft and mismanagement,” he said when asked what good his party’s protests would do under the present circumstances.

The PTI chief said he had been avoiding to hold rallies against loadshedding fearing riots and destruction of public property as being witnessed during protests led by the PML-N in Punjab.

He said he had postponed his North American tour to launch a countrywide protest campaign against loadshedding and price hike from Faisalabad on June 27.

He welcomed Supreme Court’s judgment against Yousuf Raza Gilani and paid tribute to the judiciary for upholding the rule of law and Constitution.

Mr Khan said the other major achievement of the apex court was a report prepared by the memo commission which declared that the former ambassador to the US, who was appointed by the Zardari government, was involved in activities against Pakistan.

He said that there could be no hope of fair and free polls under President Zardari but his party would take part in elections.

Answering a question, he said the PTI would contest elections alone and would never shake hands with the parties of status quo, including the PML-N.

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