Former PM Imran Khan has upped the ante in his drive to force the coalition government into early elections by saying he has decided to opt out of a “corrupt system and quit all assemblies”. “I don’t want any anarchy…will continue to take the path of constitutional and rule of law based struggle” for change, he said.
Moreover, he called off his much-anticipated long march on the federal capital, saying he anticipated havoc and disorder in the country, reported Express Tribune.
“My party has decided not to remain part of the current political system and will instead resign from all the assemblies,” the PTI chief said in his first in-person address at the mammoth rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
According to Dawn, Khan’s announcement “is actually an attempt to ‘stay politically relevant’ and ‘an invitation for renewed engagement’ to the new military leadership, which is all set to take over from next week”.
If Khan’s ‘surprise’ of quitting all assemblies goes though, general elections could be held on 563 seats out of a total of 859, which include: 123 seats in National Assembly; 297 seats in Punjab Assembly; 115 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly; 26 seats in Sindh; and 26 seats in Balochistan.
It’s a gambit, an independent observer says, who maintains that Khan is changing political culture of the country; has been insisting on rule of law in all domains…”and therefore he has attracted the collective imagination of the nation, specially the youth who are yearning for change,” he added.
Irshad Salim, Karachi
