Imran Khan announces long march for early elections
The former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan announced that his party’s long march towards Islamabad for the country’s “battle for real freedom” would begin on May 25.
Addressing a press conference after his party’s core committee meeting in Peshawar, the former prime minister said he would stay with his supporters in Islamabad until their demands were met. The main demands for the march to the capital were the immediate dissolution of the National Assembly and the announcement of early elections.
“This is our only demand, we don’t want anything else,” the former premier said. “We want fair and transparent elections.”
He invited people from all walks of life to join the long march saying “This is Jihad and not politics. I’ve decided and told all my team that we have to be ready to sacrifice our lives.”
“They have imposed these crooks, we will never accept them,” he said.
The core committee will also devise a plan on how to handle the expected arrests of the PTI leaders and road blockages to stop them from reaching Islamabad, he had said. Khan also said that if any actions were to prevent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s “peaceful protest”, then they would pursue legal action.
He asked the government to refrain from taking any action against his supporters, saying his party would lead a peaceful movement and not indulge in violence.
He also asked Pakistan’s powerful military to stay neutral. “You [armed forces] said you are ‘neutral,’ then stay neutral in this,” he added.
“I want our entire nation to come to Islamabad, on Srinagar Highway for the Haqiqi Azadi March on 25th May where I will meet you at 3 pm. I will be leading the March from KP InshaAllah,” Khan announced in a tweet.