National elections necessary to end political crisis: Imran Khan

• Imran Khan launched election campaign
• He announced his next public gathering on March 4
• He said party tickets will be allotted within two weeks

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday launched the election campaign for polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Addressing the nation video link, the former prime minister announced he will hold his first public gathering next week on Saturday as part of the election campaign. He instructed party workers to prepare for the election campaign.

He added that party tickets will  be allotted within two weeks and he will himself award tickets to deserving candidates. He said those who don’t receive tickets will be accommodated in Local Government elections in Punjab.

He said they will strictly enforce party discipline and anyone contesting as an independent candidate will be removed. He said the party has changed and have learned to withstand hardship.

At the outset of his address, the former prime minster said the establishment was warned after their government was deposed through a conspiracy that the PDM will not be able to control the economy in a downward spiral.

Imran Khan said he insisted on conducting elections to bring political and economic stability. However, he said the government and its handlers were reluctant on holding elections as they feared defeat.

He said this was first time people supported an ousted government. He said rather than adhering to his demand, the government unleashed the worst atrocities and registered 74 cases to pressurize him.

He said journalists were attacked and political workers were arrested and their videos were leaked. “The nation will never forgot what happened to Arshad Sharif,” he said, adding that party workers from Shahbaz Gill and Azam Swati were arrested and tortured.

He hailed his supporters for the success of the ‘Jail Bahro Tehreek’ for not succumbing to pressure. He said political prisoners were treated worse than criminals. He said the movement was a success and was growing even further and party leaders courted arrested.

The PTI chief said an assassination attempt was made on them and the conspiracy was hatched by the interior minister. He said the government only wants to safeguard their corruption and made amendments in NAB laws to protect them.

He said the PTI has gathered even more respect and won majority of the by-elections. Regarding the recent bypolls in Jampur, he said the PTI candidate received more votes than others combined.

He said elections are constitutionally supposed to be held within 90 days but the government was not providing the election date. He hailed the Supreme Court for resolving the crises which could have placed the country in a quagmire.

He said the government brought the worst inflation in the country and prices have reached record high which had affected ordinary households. He said there is hopelessness and more than 800,000 people have left the country in despair.

He said the solution to the economic crisis is having a government brought by the public mandate. He said the election will be held on April 30 in Punjab and KP.

He suggested to holding national elections to bring political and economic stability. He said the first step is to hold elections which brings a stable government for the next five years.

He said the price of oil will rise due to rupee depreciation and the dollar is expected to reach Rs300 soon, leading to new wave of inflation. He said the government is only reliant on receiving loans to resolve the crisis.

He said the institutions should cooperate for the resolving the economic crisis. He said they will have to made drastic decisions never seen in history and reduce the burden on the nation.

He said efforts are required for wealth generation and increasing exports. He foreign investors should be conducive an environment conducive for investment by ensuing rule of law and justice

He said assassination attempt was made on him but he is ready to forgive the attackers. He said political never stops from dialogue and he is willing to speak to everyone for the sake of the nation.

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