Imran Khan to kick off PTI election campaign from Lahore

General elections in Punjab are scheduled to be held on April 30.

Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), will launch his party’s election campaign from Lahore on March 8 as the date for the Punjab elections draws near (Wednesday).

While the date for the elections in KP has not yet been declared since Governor Ghulam Ali has not made a decision, the general elections in Punjab are slated to take place on April 30. President Arif Alvi consulted the Pakistani Election Commission before announcing the schedule for the Punjab elections given the Supreme Court’s divided decision from the previous week (ECP).

Addressing a joint press conference, PTI leader Hammad Azhar said that there would be “historic sciences” when Khan would launch the party’s election drive in the city. The PTI chairman will lead a rally scheduled to be taken out from his Zaman Park residence to Data Darbar.

“Khan, aboard a bomb-proof vehicle, will lead the rally,” he added.

Azhar said that the future generation would read and see the pictures and videos of the historic event and will understand how a nation becomes alive.

Referring to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) ban on the broadcast of Khan’s speeches and press talks, Azhar said that nobody could stop the PTI chairman’s voice.

Khan declared on March 1 that his party will start its election campaign on March 4 and stop its Prison Bharo Tehreek shortly after the Supreme Court’s split decision regarding general elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab (court arrest movement).

The Lahore rally is the first in a series of election campaigns planned by the PTI across the country. The party is expected to hold rallies and public meetings in other major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Quetta, in the coming weeks.

The ousted prime minister, whose government was sent home after a no-confidence motion in April last year, said the PDM-led “government feels threatened” by the polls.

PTI launches election drive

Imran Khan, on March 4, said that he was ready to “forgive” those who had orchestrated an “attack” against him — in November last year — as he launched the election campaign in two provinces — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Toning down his rhetoric in a speech to workers via video link, the deposed prime minister — who has called incumbent rulers “dacoits” —said he was ready to “mend fences with everyone”.

Speaking to his party workers and the nation, Khan reiterated that fresh elections are the sole solution to the prevailing crisis being faced by the country.