Screengrab of PTI chief Imran Khan’s press conference on Dec. 11, 2022.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan once again appeared to appeal to the security establishment to intervene in Pakistan’s political process, saying he has ‘expectations’ that the “new set-up” will take notice of the “serious situation of the country’s economy.”
Addressing media from his Zaman Park resident in Lahore on Sunday, the ousted prime minister continued his claims of the country heading toward an “economic disaster” that could only be averted through fresh elections. “I have expectations from the new set-up [led by Army chief Gen. Asim Munir] that the national security institutions will take into account this serious situation of the country’s economy on a downward spiral,” he added. To a subsequent question on the constitutional basis by which he was inviting state institutions to intervene, Khan offered no explanation and sought to deflect by narrating various steps of the incumbent government that he claimed were unconstitutional.
To a question, he said the “new regime” in the Army had recently taken over and “should think about the country for God’s sake.” Claiming the nation and Army go hand-in-hand, he claimed any moves against his party risked damaging national unity.
According to Khan, all economic indicators have worsened since his government was ousted, including the GDP growth rate; exports; large-scale industry. “Why will investors come to Pakistan and install large-scale industries when their dollars are already growing and they know that any investment in Pakistan will go down the drain?” he questioned, while lashing out at media houses for not questioning the incumbent government about inflation.
“Petroleum prices in the international market have gone down from $115 per barrel to $80 per barrel, the current inflation rate has soared to 24pc as compared to almost half—12.5 percent—when the PTI was in power,” he said, while accusing journalists of selling their consciences for the sake of money.
Assembly dissolution
On his threatened dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies—which he announced last month—Khan acknowledged that the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) had warned him that the governments would be replaced by a caretaker setup by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), who he has persistently accused of bias for the federal government. “The PMLQ’s point is right,” he said of the allied party’s unwillingness to exit the assemblies without a guarantee of early elections.
Nonetheless, he maintained, he would quit the KP and Punjab assemblies before the end of the month and reiterated that Chief Minister Parvez Elahi had given him full authority to dissolve the Punjab Assembly any time of his choosing.
The PTI chief claimed he knew PMLN’s Nawaz Sharif and PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari would never accept early elections as they feared electoral losses. “They don’t have any interest in Pakistan,” he claimed. “The delay in fresh elections will not affect me or the PTI, but the country and its people,” he said, reiterating that a “powerful man”—former Army chief Gen. (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa—had gotten corruption cases against them closed.
Alleging that the ruling coalition had appointed its “own men” as heads of the National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency, he claimed they intended to “destroy” these institutions. He claimed—echoing similar allegations from his political rivals during their time in opposition—both bodies had been tasked with getting his disqualified from public office, adding the chief election commissioner was also working to “dent” the PTI. “Will this nation vote for someone other than the PTI if I don’t officially remain head of the party?” he questioned.
At one point, the ousted prime minister also hit out at the ongoing controversy of him selling a wristwatch gifted to him by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. “It was my watch, whether I sell it or not,” he claimed, while not commenting on whether he had hidden the proceeds from the sale, which was the basis for the ECP convicting him of “corrupt practices.”
In a posting on Twitter, PPP Senator and Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman described Khan’s appeal to the new Army chief as “condemnable.” Maintaining that “no democratic politician” invites institutions to interfere in politics, she advised the PTI chief to keep the Army chief out of his political narrative. “Imran Khan will now have to learn and do politics without the help of institutions,” she added.