File photo of an earlier video statement from PTI chief Imran Khan
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has decided to not physically participate in public gatherings being organized by his party for the electoral campaign of by-elections for National Assembly seats vacated by the acceptance of resignations from his lawmakers.
Scheduled for March by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), by-elections would be conducted on over 60 seats, which were vacated by PTI lawmakers after NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted the resignations they had tendered after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister in a vote of no-confidence last April.
According to local media, the PTI’s senior leadership decided that Khan should not physically appear at any public meetings due to security threats. Instead, he would reportedly address all election rallies via video-link.
On Nov. 3, the PTI chief was shot in the leg after a gunman opened fire on his party’s long march to Islamabad at Wazirabad. After a brief reprieve, the long march resumed, but ended in Rawalpindi, with Khan attending the concluding rally in person despite his injuries. Since then, Khan has said that he would resume public gatherings once doctors say he has recovered fully.
However, Khan alleged in a televised address last month that Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was colluding with “agencies” to have him assassinated by a “terror outfit.” The PPP, in response, has sent a Rs. 10 billion legal notice to Khan, demanding he either prove his allegations or withdraw them.