‘Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka’: Imran Khan about Army chief appointment

In a press conference on Monday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that the appointment of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) should be on merit.

He stated: “Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka” (COAS should neither be my man nor someone else’s.)

He was of the view that high-profile appointments like the COAS should not be made by “criminals like Nawaz or Zardari”.

Moreover, he claimed that his party has been “sidelined” many times despite him trying his best not to cause any harm to institutions.

Taking a jibe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Khan said that Nawaz is scared of elections because he fears defeat.

Imran said Nawaz is waiting for the PTI’s wave of support to diminish before elections could be held.

Khan gives time to the government

Khan said that he is giving some more time to the government to announce a date for elections or else he will announce the long march date, adding that preparations for the march have been completed.

“I am giving them [government] time just for the sake of the country,” he said. “I repeat that they still have time to announce elections, and if they don’t, I will begin my march, and my preparations are almost complete.”

He said dialogue is out of the question with the ruling elite. “There’s no negotiation with criminals. You can hold reconciliation talks with Baloch or Sindhi nationalists, but not with felons like them,” Khan added.

Rigging in NA-237

Imran demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold re-election in Karachi’s NA-237 constituency which he lost on Sunday to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)candidate. He claimed that the PPP clinched the seat in the by-poll on through “rigging”.

He said that the government did not wish to hold elections and used floods as an excuse. “They said that there were floods. But in the constituencies where elections were held, floods did not have an effect.”

“Sindh’s election commissioner was on the provincial government’s payroll. We reject [Malir’s] by-election and demand re-election. The PPP swung the polls to their advantage through indiscriminate rigging,” Khan alleged.