Islamabad: Former Prime Minister and Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has indicated the possibility of general elections in April.
“With both the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies dissolved, the federal government will be left with no option but to hold general elections,” the ex-PM said during a meeting with media persons at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.
The PTI chief reiterated that Chief Minister of Punjab Chaudhry Parvaiz Elahi would dissolve the Punjab Assembly soon after taking a vote of confidence.
However, he expressed his confidence even if polls were delayed, “it won’t affect” his party’s popularity.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb in a statement while responding to Imran’s demand said, “The election will not be held on mere predictions, rather it will be held on completion of the constitutional term of the coalition government,” she said.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) had last week reinstated Pervaiz Elahi as the chief minister in the country’s largest province on the condition that he would not dissolve the provincial legislature.
The court, however, did not restrict him from taking a vote of confidence.
The LHC will resume hearing the case on January 11 and Imran Khan, while speaking to senior journalists, expressed his confidence that Parvaiz Elahi would take the vote of confidence even before that date.
Defending the delay in the Punjab and KP assemblies’ dissolution, the PTI chief said his party had to convince its ally, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) whose leader Ch Pervaiz Elahi is chief minister of Punjab, before any decision on the provincial assemblies’ dissolution.
The PTI and PML-Q are currently holding consultations on the date of dissolution and seat adjustment before they head for polls.
However, for the date of dissolution, the PML-Q has said it was awaiting Imran’s instructions.
Reiterating his prediction about the general polls, the PTI chief said that he foresaw elections taking place in April 2023.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led coalition federal government has repeatedly rejected the PTI’s demand for holding snap polls and claimed the elections would take place at their stipulated time i.e. October 2023.
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