I Can Talk to the TTP, Separatists, But Not With Thieves, Says Imran Khan

 

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), thanked the country on Wednesday for helping him defeat what he called a "international conspiracy" by supporting his candidate, Parvez Elahi, in the most recent election for Punjab chief minister, but ruled out the possibility of holding talks with the ruling coalition.

"I can communicate with the [Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan], Baloch and Sindh separatists, but not with crooks. In his presentation on Wednesday night, which was being observed as a "Thanksgiving day" on the call of his party, he said, "Will you speak to someone who robs your home?

"In all my life, I have only once seen such enthusiasm, and that was during the conflict of 1965, when everyone believed that the country was at war. And now, during the by-elections in Punjab's 20 constituencies, I witnessed the same passion among the populace," he stated.

He insisted that he desired good relations with everyone, including the US, which he accuses of plotting to remove him from office, but he urged the country to choose "death over servitude."

"I don't want to have a negative relationship with the US, which is home to a sizable portion of the Pakistani community and where we export more than any other nation. However, "death is preferable to servitude, and we must live with self-respect.

Mr. Khan asserted that the country's current crises—caused by the incompetence of the government that was imposed on it through foreign conspiracy—could only be resolved by general elections. He further pledged that, if he were to win reelection, he would put the nation on its feet and would only turn to Pakistanis living abroad for financial support rather than the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr. Khan reiterated his entire lack of confidence in the current Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sikandar Sultan Raja, in remarks that sounded like an early election speech. He persisted in asserting that Mr. Raja was complicit in election manipulation during the most recent by-elections for 20 provincial assembly seats.

During his address, he also promised that when he came back to power, he would reinstate the Sehat Card and the Ehsas Ration, two of the province's signature programmes.

The PTI chairman's promise to restart two significant projects in Punjab seemed to dispel any concerns that he might try to dissolve the legislatures in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the party is currently in power, in order to put pressure on the federal government to resign and call for general elections.

When commenting on a recent Supreme Court decision that made Pervez Elahi the new chief minister of Punjab and declared Hamza Sharif's victory in the most recent election for the position invalid, the former prime minister said it was crystal clear in the Constitution that the parliamentary leader, not the party leader.