‘Giving federal government more time to announce snap polls, or else will unleash mega rally,’ warns former Pak PM Khan

Former Pakan prime miner Imran Khan on Monday stopped short of announcing the date for the proposed mega rally to the federal capital, as he gave the Shehbaz Sharif-led government some more time to announce snap polls and the dissolution of the National Assembly.
Khan, the chairman of the Pakan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who made calls for the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ (real freedom march) earlier this month, made this assertion while addressing a press conference here after his party swept the crucial -elections held on Sunday.
“I am giving them time…and will announce a long march any time, which will definitely be held in October. This protest will be very different and nobody will be able to control the masses once they are on roads,” Khan said.
Khan’s party won six out of eight National Assembly seats and two out of three provincial assembly seats in Punjab province, in another jolt to the Sharif government.
The main contest was between Prime Miner Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Khan’s PTI.
Eight seats of the National Assembly (NA) and three of the Punjab provincial assembly fell vacant after the PTI lawmakers resigned following the toppling of Khan’s government in April.
Khan, who contested seven National Assembly seats in the crucial -elections held on Sunday, emerged victorious in six constituencies, building forward momentum in his drive to push the six-month-old PML-N-led government into announcing an early general election.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was defeated on a seat in Karachi a candidate of the Pakan Peoples Party (PPP), which managed to clinch two National Assembly seats — Multan and Karachi — which were bagged the PTI in the 2018 general elections.
This will be Khan’s second major rally, after the first one, known as the “Azadi Rally,” which he had called on May 25, was abruptly called off at the last minute after his party workers arrived at the federal capital.
While exuding satisfaction over the results of the -elections, the former premier alleged rigging in Karachi’s constituency and demanded the Election Commission of Pakan (ECP) to hold re-election.
Khan accused his political rival and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif of attempting to delay elections, saying “he (Sharif) is afraid to go to polls because of the PTI’s constantly growing popularity.” During Monday’s press conference, Khan came down heavily on the “custodial torture” inflicted on his party’s senator Azam Swati for tweeting against the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
“He (Swati) was beaten in front of his grandchildren and then was taken to police station where law enforcers handed his custody to agencies, who then subjected him to more torture,” Khan alleged.
“I felt so ashamed that we humiliated our people this way,” he added.
Khan will use his victory to press for early elections, which had been his main demand since his removal from office, but he may not succeed to get snap polls as the coalition government is still strong enough to res the pressure.
Since his ouster from power through a no-confidence vote, Khan has been campaigning for snap polls and regularly holding rallies.
It helped him to win 15 out of 20 seats of the Punjab assembly in July when -elections were held.