LAHORE – Former prime minister Imran Khan said on Thursday he would not accept the government of the corrupt at any cost and demanded fresh general elections on an urgent basis.

Addressing a mass public gathering in the Punjab capital, Khan said he would give his supporters the future plan of action at today's gathering. He said that foreign powers did not like his government's efforts for an independent foreign policy and against Islamophobia. He said that foreign powers did not like Pakistan's relations with China.

He said that three stooges – Shehbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Fazl-ur-Rehman – became part of the foreign sponsored conspiracy and toppled his government. He said he went to Russia so that he could buy cheap gas and wheat for the people of Pakistan. He said that India defied the US pressure and purchased cheap oil from Russia in defiance of the US pressure.

Referring to the allegations that he sold the gifts he received from different countries, Khan said he got gifts from the government's depository in accordance with the law, but spent that money on construction of roads around his private residence instead of taking funds from the exchequer.

He asked people not to vote for anyone who has his money or assets abroad. He slammed the opposition parties for engaging in horse-trading and asked the judiciary to tell if it wasn't a violation of the law. He asked people not to let the turncoats win in any case. 

Khan said the United States carried out 400 drone strikes in Pakistan, but former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other leaders did not say even a single word against these drone attacks. 

Khan, who is also chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was facing a Rs40 billion corruption case. He said that Sharif's son Hamza Shahbaz, son-in-law Ali Imran and relative Ishaq Dar fled the country after plundering Pakistan's resources.

He asked the judiciary who's duty it was to arrest these corrupt people. He said that those who should have been in jail have become prime minister, chief minister and ministers. He said these rulers were involved in money-laundering. 

Khan said that Pakistan's justice system could not hold the powerful accountable. Referring to the foreign funding case against the PTI, Khan said his party received funds from Pakistanis in the country and abroad and there was nothing wrong about this funding.

Khan said that Pakistan could not make progress as long as these three stooges, Sharif, Zardari and Fazl, are in power in Pakistan. He said that Pakistani rulers handed over Pakistani citizens to the United States. He asked people to wait for his call to Islamabad. He said he did not want violence in Pakistan with the army or the police. He said that Pakistan would have split into three parts without a strong army. He said that Pakistan would have become a country like Syria and Libya if the army wouldn't have rendered sacrifices. 

Towards the end of his speech, Khan said he wanted general elections in the country without any delay. He said those who made a mistake by toppling his government had only one way of correcting that mistake; they should announce fresh elections immediately.