ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday promised to kick off Punjab election campaign starting next week, adding he would continue to hold rallies until May 14 when the country’s top court wants the government to hold general polls in the province.
Khan made the announcement while addressing the supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party after asking people across the country to step out for an hour to express solidarity with the country’s judiciary, constitution and chief justice.
The former premier maintained the constitution and rule of law were in danger in Pakistan amid an ongoing tussle between the government and the judiciary following the Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case related to delayed elections in Punjab. Khan’s allies dissolved the legislative assembly in the province in January to build pressure for early national elections.
The government blamed the apex court for going beyond its constitutional remit and undermining parliamentary supremacy after the judges announced the election date in Punjab and instructed the central bank to release funds for the purpose.
Supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan gather in Rawalpindi on May 6, 2023. (Photo courtesy: PTI/Social Media)
“I will start holding public rallies from next week and go up to Attock [district in the north of the province with the campaign] until May 14,” Khan told a roaring crowd while sitting in his vehicle.
He said the caretaker administrations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Khan’s party also dissolved the provincial assembly, had no legal significance since they were trying to prolong their tenure beyond the 90-day period mentioned in the constitution.
The former prime minister said his party would demand elections in both provinces and prepare the people for the political contest.
According to a statement released by the PTI media cell earlier in the day, the party has identified “about 4,000 spots” in different parts of Pakistan where people could gather to express solidarity with the judiciary.
The PTI also accused authorities in the federal capital of defying the orders of the Islamabad High Court by refusing to allow its followers to rally in the city. It informed it was taking the matter back to the court against the capital administration.
The standoff between the judiciary and government is expected to deepen as parliament legislates to curtail the powers of the Supreme Court, particularly the chief justice, and introduce the right to appeal against verdicts in cases initiated by judges on their own through the constitution’s suo motu provision.
The apex court announced on Friday it would order polls to be held in the Punjab province on May 14 if the federal government and PTI failed to reach a consensus on holding elections on the same day across the country.
Multiple rounds of talks between ex-PM Khan’s party and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration have taken place to decide on a consensus date for elections, though the PTI recently said the negotiations had failed.
