ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said on Thursday it was willing to discuss the modalities of the next general elections if the government was open to the idea of going to the polls ahead of schedule.
The PTI has been seeking fresh elections in the country since the downfall of its administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April. Khan has held dozens of protest rallies across Pakistan while describing snap polls as the only way out of the prevailing political and economic turmoil.
The former prime minister announced his decision at a recent protest in Rawalpindi to dissolve the provincial legislatures of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his party is in power, hoping to intensify pressure on the coalition administration at the center to announce an early election date.
“For sure,” said PTI senior vice president Chaudhary Fawad Hussain in a Twitter post, “if [the government] announces early elections we are ready to negotiate [the] framework of elections and changes in [the Election Commission of Pakistan].”
Khan has repeatedly said in recent days he wants early elections since the country’s economy is in a crisis state and his party wants to retrieve control of the situation before it is too late.
He has also expressed reservations over the workings of the country’s election regulatory authority while claiming that its officials have a bias against his party.
On Thursday, the former prime minister also held a meeting with the Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi to discuss the overall political situation of the country and weigh the option of dissolving the provincial assembly.
“There will be no delay in dissolving the Punjab Assembly on Imran Khan’s instructions,” Elahi said in a Twitter post after the meeting.
He dismissed the possibility of governor rule in Punjab while pointing out it could not happen since the assembly was in session.
Elahi also challenged the federal government to bring a no-confidence motion against him, saying the move would fail again like before.
He added his political rivals were far behind in the number game.
It may be recalled the Punjab chief minister is Khan’s political ally and holds the top provincial position after reaching a political understanding with the PTI leadership.
He noted that his party endorsed all decisions made by Khan, adding it fully supported anyone it chooses to ally with.
Ex-PM Khan’s party says willing to negotiate with government over next elections
https://arab.news/y4ndw
Ex-PM Khan’s party says willing to negotiate with government over next elections
- Among other modalities, PTI leaders want to discuss changes in the Election Commission of Pakistan
- Punjab chief minister has reiterated his commitment to dissolve the assembly on Khan’s instructions
Pakistan highlights economic reforms at Davos, eyes cooperation in AI, IT and minerals
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at breakfast event in Davos at sidelines of World Economic Forum summit
- Pakistan, rich in gold, copper reserves, has sought cooperation with China, US, Gulf countries in its mineral sector
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s recent economic reforms during the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos on Wednesday, saying that his country was eyeing greater cooperation in mines and minerals, information technology, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence with other states.
The Pakistani prime minister was speaking at the Pakistan Pavilion in Davos on the sidelines of the WEF summit at a breakfast event. Sharif arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday to attend the 56th annual meeting of the WEF, which brings together global business leaders, policymakers and politicians to speak on social, economic and political challenges.
Pakistan has recently undertaken several economic reforms, which include removing subsidies on energy and food, privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises and expanding its tax base. Islamabad took the measures as part of reforms it agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a financial bailout package.
“We are now into mines and minerals business in a big way,” Sharif said at the event. “We have signed agreements with American companies and Chinese companies.”
Islamabad has sought to attract foreign investment in its critical minerals sector in recent months. In April 2025, Pakistan hosted an international minerals summit where top companies and government officials from the US, Saudi Arabia, China, Türkiye, the UK, Azerbaijan, and other nations attended.
Pakistan is rich in gold, copper and lithium reserves as well as other minerals, yet its mineral sector contributes only 3.2 percent to the countrys GDP and 0.1 percent to global exports, according to official figures.
Sharif said Pakistan has been blessed with infinite natural resources which are buried in its mountains in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and southwestern Balochistan regions.
“But we have now decided to go forward at lightning speed,” he said. “And we are also moving speedily in the field of crypto, AI, IT.”
He said the government’s fiscal and economic measures have reduced inflation from nearly 30 percent a few years ago to single-digit figures, adding that its tax-to-GDP ratio had also increased from 9 to 10.5 percent.
The prime minister admitted Pakistan’s exports face different kinds of challenges collectively, saying the country’s social indicators needed to improve.
“But the way forward is very clear: that Pakistan has to have an export-led growth,” he said.
Sharif will take part in an informal meeting of world leaders this year themed ‘The Importance of Dialogue in a Divided Global Landscape,’ his office said in an earlier statement.
Pakistan’s participation at the WEF comes as Islamabad seeks to sustain recent economic stabilization and attract investment by engaging directly with policymakers, business leaders and international institutions at the annual gathering.
