Imran Khan addresses first rally since shooting, calls off protest, says his party will quit all assemblies

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed his first rally of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in Rawalpindi after the shooting incident and announced that his party members will resign from all the provincial assemblies.

The ousted Pak PM, who addressed the rally in garrison city, which houses the headquarters of the powerful Army, alleged that three criminals, who were behind the failed assassination attempt on him early this month, are waiting to target him again, reported news agency PTI.

In his first public appearance after Imran Khan was wounded in a gun attack, the former Pak PM on Saturday said he was calling off his protest march to Islamabad because he feared it would cause havoc in the country. Khan also stated that his party did not want to remain a part of the current ‘corrupt’ political system and will instead resign from all the assemblies.

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Imran Khan addressed his first mega rally in Rawalpindi since surviving an ‘assassination’ bid earlier this month. The 70-year-old leader, who appeared with plaster on his right leg, has repeatedly alleged that Prime Minister Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and ISI Counter Intelligence Wing head Maj-Gen Faisal Naseer were behind the attack on him.

Khan said his party had decided to resign from the provincial assemblies instead of marching on Islamabad to force the Shehbaz Sharif-led government to announce snap polls. PTI has already resigned from the federal parliament, but remains in power in two provinces and two administrative units.

Addressing a sea of supporters who cheered at his presence, Khan said, “If you want to live life, shun the fear of death.” Khan called on his supporters to free themselves from the fear of death if they wanted to live freely.

Imran Khan said on Saturday that there were three shooters involved in the assassination attempt on him during a protest march in the eastern city of Wazirabad on November 3. The PTI chief suffered bullet injuries in the right leg when the gunmen fired at him in Punjab’s Wazirabad where he was leading the march against the government to call for snap polls.

Khan, who has been pressing the Shehbaz Sherif government for early elections ever since he was ousted out of power, said, “I have decided not to go to Islamabad because I know there will be havoc and the loss will be to the country.” Khan had started a long march from Lahore to Islamabad after he was dethroned. The march was temporarily halted on November 3 after he was injured in a bullet injury.

In a veiled attack on the powerful military establishment, Imran Khan acknowledged that he failed to bring the powerful and corrupt under the law during his three-and-a-half years at the helm because key institutions like the National Accountability Bureau were not under his control. The PTI chief lamented that NAB and other institutions were not under his control and received orders from behind from somewhere else.

Khan also announced to continue his protest until new elections were announced. Elections are not due in Pakistan until the term of the current National Assembly gets over in August 2023.”The movement of Haqeeqi Azadi will continue until genuine freedom is achieved,” he said. During his speech, Imran Khan also emphasised on holding elections and said, “The rally was held because we want elections to take the country forward.“I am here to tell them that there is no other way except elections.” Khan said.

Taking to his Twitter handle, Imran Khan wrote, “I want to thank all the people who came in such huge numbers from across Pakistan to our Rawalpindi Azadi March yeaterday. Our Tehreek will continue until we establish rule of law and real freedom.” (sic)

Imran Khan was ousted from power in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan. After being dethroned, he has become a vocal critic of Pakistan’s government and its powerful military leadership.