Hold polls before country slips out of hands: Imran Khan

PTI Chairman Imran Khan Thursday said the PDM’s attempts to not let him exercise his “constitutional right” of dissolving provincial assemblies as he reiterated his demand for “free and fair elections”, which he said was the only way to drag the country out of the crisis.

Imran made the remarks as he addressed his party’s parliamentarians, supporters and workers who had gathered outside the Punjab Governor House in Lahore evening to “block” Balighur Rehman from taking any “unconstitutional” decision of de-notifying Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi.

He explained that he wanted to dissolve his provincial assembles “because we fear that if snap polls are not held, the country will slip out of our hands”.

He bemoaned that one man’s decision toppled his government, deeming it “cruelty”.

“I want to remind the nation that the toppled government took the country towards economic progress,” the deposed prime minister said while addressing his workers and supporters via video link from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

He added that the PTI’s toppled government gave the highest growth rate in Pakistan’s history where the economy was progressing. “The country’s wealth increased by 5.7% and 6% in the third and fourth year. The country had never progressed to this extent.”

Khan said that he had never seen the nation go into a dark time in his 70 years of life. “Our country is getting stuck in quicksand.”

“I believe that never in the 70 years of my life have I seen my nation head towards such darkness.”

The former prime minister said that he is addressing those Pakistanis who have not transferred their money abroad rather than those who have looted the country.

“Today I want to talk to the nation about the situation in Punjab,” he said. “There is a strange environment. Initially, the PML-N was challenging us to dissolve assemblies, saying that they were ready for elections. But when we did that, a vote of confidence and no-trust motions were moved in the Punjab Assembly.

Earlier, PTI demonstrators congregated and chanted slogans against the governor, and also brought a 100-meter-long PTI flag to show their support for party chairman Imran Khan, who addressed the gathering via video link.