Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that he is “ready” to talk to the establishment.
\nIn an interview with BBC Urdu, Imran said that all he wants is to hold elections in the country and for that, he is \u201cready to talk to anyone\u201d and does not need crutches.
\n\u201cI was asked if I would talk to the establishment should they want to talk. I said that I am a politician and will talk to everyone\u2026 except thieves,\u201d said Imran.
\nFurther, the former prime minister clarified that he has not invited Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir or Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to talk.
\nHe said, \u201cThere have been rumours that I want to talk to the army chief but I don\u2019t need the establishment. A party with which the people of the country are with does not need crutches.\u201d
\nWhen asked if the change in military leadership made any difference to him in the attitude of the establishment towards his party, he said, \u201cit didn\u2019t make any difference to us.\u201d
\n\u201cCases were made against us during the tenure of General Bajwa. Never before has there been so much custodial violence against seniors. We thought this would change when the new chief comes, but difficulties have only increased,\u201d Imran said.
\nHe furthered that the Supreme Court has ordered elections to be held in 90 days and the president has announced the same. However, when the PTI held an election rally, there was a police crackdown, vehicles were broken, a water cannon was used and people were arrested.
\nThe deposed premier said that the job of the caretaker government is to conduct elections. \u201cHow can elections be held without election campaigns and rallies?\u201d he questioned.
\nOn Wednesday, dozens of PTI supporters were arrested and injured while one was killed in a police crackdown on an election rally around Zaman Park in Lahore.
\nThe police had used baton charge, shelling and a water cannon to disperse the rally while the PTI workers also pelted the police with stones. In this clash, several policemen were also injured
\nThe PTI chief said that this type of violence is a tactic \u201cto run away from the election\u201d and urged party workers not be a part of any chaos \u201cso that the government does not get a chance to run away from the election\u201d.
\n\u201cIf we wanted, the fight would have continued till night, but we do not want to give them a chance to get out of the elections by creating chaos,\u201d he said.
\nImran said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has given the election dates on the order of the Supreme Court, but \u201cit seems that the government does not want to hold the election\u201d.
\n\u201cAll kinds of excuses are still being given as to why elections should not be held. I am afraid that they will kill a big personality like Benazir Bhutto. They are trying to somehow get out of the election,\u201d he said.
\nWhen asked what would happen if the election does not take place, Imran asserted that this would be contempt of court as it would be a violation of the constitution and Supreme Court orders. \u201cIf elections aren\u2019t held, the constitution and law will be destroyed,\u201d he said.
\nHe furthered that the government \u201cwants me to be disqualified or go to jail so that it can win this election\u201d.
\nImran said that he had won the 2018 election because the nation had turned against the government parties. \u201cGiven the current inflation, these parties have been completely buried,\u201d he said.
\nHe said that \u201ccommon sense says that all the elections should not be held together. This will also be better for the country. Let the people choose who they want. The government that will come will solve the country\u2019s problems\u201d.
\nRegarding Pervaiz Elahi\u2019s appointment as PTI president, Imran said that he is the vice-chairman and number two leader of the party. \u201cPervaiz Elahi bore the pressure of the establishment and stayed with us in difficult times, so the position was given to him,\u201d he said.
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