Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that the next general election will be held across the country within three months.
Addressing a public gathering in Lahore on Tuesday, he said this time PTI will give tickets to its ideological workers after proper consultation at grassroots level. He admitted that in the past, his party committed mistakes over the distribution of tickets, for which it paid a heavy price. However, he said his party has learnt from its mistakes. While commenting on the recent developments, Imran Khan said that a conspiracy was hatched from abroad “and our people became traitors in this move”.
He expressed hope that people would reject this move and “teach a lesson” to the politicians who become part of a foreign conspiracy in the forthcoming elections. “These traitors planned to end the country’s independent foreign policy and we will fight them at all costs,” Imran declared.
Addressing a ceremony at Governor House Lahore, the prime minister instructed the PTI workers to prepare for the elections, saying that this time the party would give tickets to those who were aligned with the party’s political philosophy after careful consideration.
PM Imran said that tickets would be given to all the MPs in attendance who still supported and continued to support the party during ‘difficult times’. The prime minister said the PTI had approached the Supreme Court against ‘traitors’ and opined that apart from lifetime bans, they should also be imprisoned. “If today we don’t stand up against this treachery then our coming generations won’t forgive us. Today is a decisive and defining moment in our country,” the premier said.
He called on the people to wage peaceful protests every day, saying doing so is their “duty” along with defeating the alleged conspiracy against his government. The purpose of the demonstrations, he explained, was to send a message to the US and its alleged collaborators in the country that “this is a living nation and it won’t allow any scheme [against it] to be successful”. The interim prime minister told his supporters to stage a demonstration at Islamabad’s F9 Park after Isha prayers.
Earlier, Imran Khan also met Punjab Assembly Speaker Ch Parvez Elahi to discuss the number’ game for the election of the Punjab chief minister. Separately, addressing a gathering of PTI workers, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Pakistani nation would teach a lesson to the traitors in the general elections for trying to topple an elected government that was pursuing an independent foreign policy. Addressing a gathering of PTI workers, he said, “The people of the country will teach a lesson to these traitors (opposition leaders) in the next general elections by burying their politics forever.”
While referring to his main political opponents, he said the three stooges had been plundering the national wealth for the last 30 years and stashed it abroad. “They can say that beggars are not choosers,” owing to their vested personal interests, he added. He said a drama had been staged in the country. In a hotel in Lahore, PTI’s defectors who had sold their party allegiance were put together. Through such shabby tactics, the democracy, future of the coming generations and solidarity of the nation has been put at stake, he stated.
The prime minister said people who had been elected on PTI’s tickets or reserved seats sold out their conscience for the sake of a few million rupees. The prime minister said that if this continued, any foreign country could purchase the loyalties of the lawmakers and topple an elected government.
