Pakistan: Ousted PM Imran Khan demands military intervention to ensure early polls

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday demanded Pakistan's military intervention to ensure early polls are held in the country shortly after he accused Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of playing part in the ouster from Parliament. Infuriated over his unceremonious exit as PM, Khan warned that his supporters will topple the "imported government" on reaching the capital. Khan was speaking at a pro-Pakistan-Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) rally in Lahore after about 12 days of his government's dismissal.

"Those who have committed this mistake of ousting my government should rectify it by holding fresh elections without any delay," Khan said in a veiled reference to Pakistan's military establishment, PTI (news agency) quoted.

Khan also lashed out at the ruling coalition government headed by incumbent Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and PTI-loyal who deflected right before the vote on a no-confidence motion in early April. Khan went on to say: "those who voted for these traitors in the next election will also be traitors." He further called out to the people of Pakistan to reach Islamabad in order to oppose the ruling coalition government. "Wait for my call when I will invite you to Islamabad. I am not giving a call just to the PTI but all Pakistanis. I want to make it clear that I don't want confrontation," he said in an hour-long speech.

Imran Khan accuses General Bajwa of involvement in his ouster

Earlier on Thursday, Khan targetted a veiled allegation against General Bajwa. "Some elements in the powerful establishment who indulged in bad practices were responsible. "There are also humans in institutions. If one or two individuals do something wrong, the entire institution is not responsible. If one person (in an apparent reference to Army chief Gen. Bajwa) makes a mistake, this does not mean that the whole institution is at fault," PTI quoted Khan as saying. According to experts, Khan had apparently lost the support of the Pakistan Army after he refused to appoint the chief of the ISI spy agency last year.

Imran Khan praises India's foreign policy

During his Thursday address, Khan also praised India's foreign policy, which is "unlike Pakistan's." He said, "Hindustan's foreign policy is for its people. How come our foreign policy can be for others, he asked. Khan had earlier praised India on several occasions for its independent foreign policy." Citing India's plans to purchase oil at a discounted rate from Russia, Khan rued that he too was planning to import from Moscow at a 30% rebate before his government was stripped down by an alleged conspiracy led by the US. He also demanded a Supreme Court investigation into the "threat letter" that he received during the unstable political turntables earlier this month.

(Image: AP)