Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that he would announce the date of his much-hyped mega protest next week to press for the dissolution of the National Assembly and the announcement of mid-term elections in the country. Khan, 70, was on Friday disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failing to inform about the money received after selling state gifts, also known as the Toshakhana case. Khan made the remarks while addressing a press conference along with Senator Azam Swati, who was granted bail by a local court in connection with his controversial tweet against Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. “I will announce the date of the Long March on Thursday or Friday,” he said.
Khan also confirmed that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was in talks with the federal government, but added that he was not expecting a meaningful outcome from them. “Political parties always talk through the back door but I don’t think so [ongoing talks] Any meaningful result will happen,” he explained. Khan said the current government led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was scared of holding general elections after the defeat in the recently concluded bypolls. He also warned that if the federal government tried to stop their “organized protest”, there would be chaos. Khan had given the call for ‘Hakiki Azadi March’ (the real freedom march) during a meeting held at his Bani Gala residence here on October 3. This will be Khan’s second major rally after the first, which is known as the “Azadi Rally”. What he called on May 25 was abruptly called off at the last minute after his party workers reached the federal capital.
During Saturday’s press conference, Khan also hit out at security officials for allegedly torturing Swati in custody. Khan said, “I will raise the issue of Azam Swati on every platform.” He also demanded the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the incident. “The Chief Justice should take cognizance of this incident. If you allow this to continue then Pakistan will turn into a banana republic,” Khan said. Meanwhile, Khan criticized the ECP’s decision in the Toshakhana case, saying that someone else was behind the verdict against him. “One thing is for sure” [CEC] You cannot give this decision yourself. Everyone knows that he is the servant of Sharif family but it should be investigated whether he was kicked from somewhere else.