Imran Khan has advised PTI lawmakers to prepare for polls, says Fawad

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has directed all the party's lawmakers to return to their constituencies and prepare for the elections, PTI's Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said Sunday.

With Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments "ready" to dissolve assemblies any time at the behest of former premier Imran Khan, PTI is yet to decide whether to dissolve the provincial assemblies simultaneously or one after the other.

Khan, after days of warning to quit all the assemblies to pressure the government on early elections, also expressed willingness to halt the assemblies' dissolution if the ruling coalition agrees to hold polls by the end of March next year.

However, Fawad said that they will not waste any more time and call for elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

"The PDM would keep running from elections but they would not waste any more time," he wrote on Twitter

The former information minister added that Khan has advised all PTI candidates to go back to their constituencies and start preparing for elections. National Assembly elections would be held afterward if the government does not call for general polls, but PTI would opt for polls in Punjab and KP as soon as possible.

Imran Khan on dissolution

In an interview with a private channel on Saturday, the PTI chief Imran Khan shared his willingness to halt the dissolution of the Punjab and KP assemblies, saying:

“If they are ready for elections by the end of March, then we won't dissolve the assemblies. Otherwise, we want to conduct polls by dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies.”

He added that his party won’t agree on a date after March and assemblies will be dissolved this month [December] if the government disagrees.

“How long will they take to decide? They either have to say yes or no. We have already decided,” the former premier said, underlining his conditional stance on talks with the government on the election date.

“If they [government] want, we can talk to them about what date the elections can be held. There is no way elections can take place after the budget,” he said, adding that the government will take the country down this way.

“Do they want polls to take place in 66% of the country and then conduct general elections?” Khan questioned, suggesting they announce elections date soon.

Commenting on PTI’s power in Punjab, the former premier said that the “game” is no longer in the hands of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Zardari as the Chief Minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi stands with the PTI.