ISLAMABAD – Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Monday did not announce the final date for his planned march towards Islamabad, saying the march would not be delayed beyond October as they have completed their preparations.
The PTI chairman expressed these views while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, a day after his party stunned its rivals and won a majority of seats in by-polls.
Imran Khan said: “My march will be held in October if the government does not announce the date for the next general election.”
“I am giving them (government) time just for the sake of the country,” he said. “I repeat that they still have time to announce elections, and if they don’t, I will begin my march, and my preparations are almost complete.”
Khan said he was still cutting the government some slack so that they could decide on it. “I am actually giving them some more time before embarking on our long march protest.”
“[Interior Minister] Rana Sanaullah won’t even know what hit him, such is my preparation,” Khan warned the top minister, who recently claimed the government’s preparation was 10 times more as compared to May 25.
He said dialogue was out of the question with the ruling elite. “There’s no negotiation with criminals. You can hold reconciliation talks with Baloch or Sindhi nationalists, but not with the felons like them,” Khan added.
But not completely satisfied with the results, Khan alleged that the elections were held in the constituencies where PTI was weak and the ruling coalition fielded joint candidates to ensure his party’s defeat.
Khan claimed that he lost Karachi’s Malir by-polls to a PPP candidate — Abdul Hakeem Baloch — as it was rigged.
The PTI chief said the ultimate goal of the ruling coalition was to secure a National Reconciliation Order (NRO) — a reference to relief in corruption cases.
He said a high-profile appointment such as that of the army chief should not be made by “criminals like Nawaz or Zardari”. “The army chief should be appointed on merit,” he said.
Earlier in the press conference, Imran said his party had a detailed discussion about the “custodial torture” inflicted on PTI leaders, saying that Senator Azam Swati was stripped naked in custody and tortured — the same treatment that was allegedly given to Shahbaz Gill.
The PTI chief questioned the logic behind torturing a “75-year-old senator” over a “mere tweet”. “He (Swati) was beaten in front of his grandkids and then was taken to police station where law enforcers handed his custody to agencies, who then subjected him to more torture,” he Imran.
Imran said the incident brought disrepute to Pakistan, and created an impression as if “the army is out of control and could do anything.”
