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Pakistan: Imran Khan’s early elections move

Imran Khan
  • Imran is first premier to lose a vote of no-confidence.
  • He wants early polls by dissolving  two assemblies.
  • Analysts say Khan’s move may create issues for country.

Former prime minister Imran Khan has announced to dissolve two provincial assemblies in an attempt to force the federal government to hold early elections.

On December 23, his party is expected to dissolve the legislatures in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This is about a year before the next elections are due.

Madiha Afzal, a fellow at the Brookings Institute think tank in Washington and the author of Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State, says that despite all the intense politics and political instability in Pakistan over the years, nothing like this has ever happened there.

Some people say that Mr. Khan’s move could throw Pakistan, which is already having trouble with its finances, even deeper into political turmoil at a time when it can least afford it.

It comes at the end of a rough year for the former cricket star who became a politician. In April, he was removed as prime minister through vote of no-confidence, and in November, he was shot and hurt.

Even though Imran Khan is no longer in charge, he still has some power because his Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party is in charge of two of Pakistan’s four provinces.

But it’s not likely that his latest plan to put pressure on them will work.

Since he was the first Pakistani prime minister to lose a vote of no confidence in parliament, Mr. Khan has asked the people to have their say.

He has held a number of large rallies to try to get the coalition government that took his place to call early elections. This is something the coalition government has repeatedly said it will not do.

The constitution of Pakistan says that a vote must be held 90 days after the government is dissolved. It’s not clear what will actually happen.

Madiha Afzal thinks there is a good chance that the courts will be involved in some way.

“If Khan’s move on Friday works, which is a big “if” right now, the PDM has said they will hold provincial assembly elections instead of general elections. Khan’s move, even if it works, is not likely to lead to early general elections, which is what he wants.” Akbar S. Babar, who used to be a founding member of Mr. Khan’s PTI party but now doesn’t get along with him, says that his repeated calls for an early election show that he just wants power and is causing political instability when the country needs the opposite.

“He has made things so bad in Pakistan that they could go in any direction. He is causing trouble for everyone. This is not what a politician does. This is not what a nation-builder is supposed to do.”

Imran Khan says that he doesn’t agree and that he will still fight for the good of the country. He told that he is a democratic person, and that democratic people “always go to the people.”

“I’ve been in politics for 26 years. Never before has a party in Pakistan had so much support from the public as we do now.”

It’s true that Mr. Khan, who is 70, still has a lot of fans. In recent by-elections, six of the eight seats up for grabs went to his party.

The most recent rallies held by Mr. Khan and his party, the PTI, were called “the long march” and were meant to show how popular he is.

A group of protesters started in Lahore and were making their way to the capital, Islamabad, where they planned to hold a sit-in to put pressure on the government.

A gunman opened fire on Mr. Khan’s container while he was on his way to a protest march in Wazirabad. He was hit in the leg. Several people were hurt, and one person died.

The former PM has said that the attack was planned by people in the current government.

Authorities have denied the accusation and put out a video that they say is a confession from the only person they know of who could have done it. Few things can be said about what Mr. Khan has done as prime minister. The economy of the country was hit by a financial crisis. His plans to change the education system and make a single curriculum were put on hold.

He was able to get more people to pay income taxes, but he couldn’t get rich Pakistanis to pay more.

Sohail Warraich, editor of the Urdu-language newspaper The Daily Jang, says, “His leadership wasn’t very good, and he didn’t set a good example.”

When Imran Khan ran for office in July 2018, he promised change and made it clear that he wasn’t part of the political dynasties that had run Pakistan since the country was founded 75 years ago. He won.

He also said he would stop doing things that were not honest, but now he is also being accused of corruption.

In October, the election commission said he couldn’t run for office for five years because he gave wrong information about gifts from foreign dignitaries and money he got from selling them. Mr. Khan said that the case was about politics.

Akbar S. Babar says, “That’s when I realised he was part of the problem, not the solution.”

“He never stuck to any one [political] idea. He’s already famous and wants to be even more famous. God help Pakistan if Imran ever gets back into power, which I very much doubt will happen.”

Sahibzada Jahangir, who was also one of the first people to join the PTI, has known Mr. Khan for 50 years and is still a strong supporter of him.

He thinks that new elections will happen soon and that Mr. Khan will win.

“Our system is very, very messed up. And Imran is the only one fighting against it, “He revealed.

“They want to kill him. They tried to kill him by killing him. Because he is one person shaking up a system that has been in place for 75 years.”

But Sohail Warraich doesn’t think that Imran Khan will be able to get back into office any time soon.

“Even though he is a powerful politician, he is not trying to make peace with the institutions. And if he keeps being hostile, I don’t think it will be easy for him to get to power.”

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