Ex-Pakistani PM launches election campaign amid arrest fears
Nasir Kazmi
Press TV, Islamabad
Pakistan’s Ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan has held a fresh election rally in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore. Thousands of supporters, guarding his bulletproof vehicle, welcomed the former PM by chanting slogans and singing party anthems.
This was Khan's first rally in more than four months, as he has been organizing his party’s affairs via a video link after being injured in a failed assassination attempt last year in Punjab.
Khan was shot in the legs on November 3 as he waved to crowds from a truck-mounted container while leading a protest march to Islamabad to pressure the government into announcing an early election — but the march was cut short in Rawalpindi.
Khan said he’s determined not to appear before courts due to ‘security threats’, and that he has no trust in the incumbent government. He asked the country’s top Court to ensure his security, claiming that his life is in serious danger.
Elections are due to be held in the country’s largest Punjab, as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces on April 30. That’s after Khan dissolved local governments administered by his party in a bid to force early national votes in Pakistan. Those votes are scheduled to be held in October.
However, the incumbent government has dismissed Khan’s demands, saying he wants to create chaos and anarchy in the country in the name of early elections, and that national polls would be held as per the schedule.
The ousted premier is now under immense pressure as two separate courts in Islamabad have issued fresh arrest warrants for him over terrorism and money laundering cases.
The political wrangling and tension is on the rise in Pakistan. Political experts believe that fresh national elections could be the ultimate solution to end the ongoing standoff between the government and the opposition.
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