RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that it was better to dissolve assemblies than “be a part of a corrupt system”.
“We will not be part of this system. We have decided to quit all the assemblies and get out of this corrupt system,” said Imran.
“My party has not come to Rawalpindi for elections or politics. It is the need of the country to have fresh elections.”
Earlier, the PTI chief said that this is a defining moment for Pakistan as he began his much-anticipated speech.
“It will take three months for my foot to heal, but I am here for the sake of Pakistan.
“There is still a threat to my life and travelling to Rawalpindi with an injury was not easy,” the former PM said. “I saw death very closely.”
He admitted that he failed to bring the powerful under the law during his rule.
Imran’s address to thousands of supporters is his first public appearance since being shot earlier this month in an assassination attempt he blamed on the current premier, and two other officials. His accusations have been denied.
The shooting was the latest twist in months of political turmoil that began in April when Imran was ousted by a vote of no confidence in parliament.
Saturday’s rally is the climax of a so-called ‘long march’ by PTI to press the government to call a snap election before parliament’s term expires in October next year.
“My life is in danger, and despite being injured I am going to Rawalpindi for the nation,” PTI quoted Khan as saying in a morning tweet.
“My nation will come to Rawalpindi for me.”
On Saturday, a video was circulating of aides posing with a now-removed blue cast that Imran wore on his right leg after the shooting.
The rally is taking place on a vast open ground between the capital, Islamabad, and neighbouring Rawalpindi — the garrison city that is home to the headquarters of the country’s military.
Authorities have thrown a ring of steel around Islamabad to prevent PTI supporters from marching on government buildings, with thousands of security personnel deployed and roads blocked by shipping containers.
Imran-led protests in May spiralled into 24 hours of chaos, with the capital blockaded and running clashes across Pakistan between police and protesters.