Imran Khan challenges Pak PM Sharif to win next general elections

|HT|

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has challenged the current coalition government to win the next general elections in the country.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief said it was impossible for the Sharif government to win the elections, adding that it would be really difficult for the current ruling dispensation to match the electioneering campaign of his party.

Khan, who has been booked in two separate cases of arson and vandalism over the May 25 ‘Azadi March’ , said the Sharif government registered FIRs against PTI members so that it could jail anyone they wanted.

Imran Khan's ‘Azadi March’ to Islamabad was marred with violent incidents across the country. There were reports of PTI supporters damaging public property while clashing with police personnel in several cities including Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore and even the country's capital. Khan was booked for an incident of fire and vandalism in Islamabad's Jinnah Avenue, and a second FIR was registered for arson and vandalism at the Express Chowk. Recently, Pakistan media reported that the cricketer-turned-politician may face treason charges. “The entire nation was looking towards the institutions to intervene and make things right”, Pakistani website Dawn quoted Khan.

Imran Khan has intensified attacks on Shehbaz Sharif over corruption charges ever since he was ousted from power. The Pakistan prime minister and his son Hamza Shehbaz have been granted pre-arrest bail in a $75 million money laundering case. The PTI also questioned the prime minister over the death of Maqsood Ahmed, also known as‘Maqsood Chaprasi’, who was the central figure in the case against the Sharifs. Imran Khan became the first Pakistani prime minister to be removed from office after losing the trust vote on April 9, with 174 members voting in favour of the motion.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)