LAHORE: Welcoming the Supreme Court judgement ordering the holding of polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, Imran Khan on Wednesday announced the suspension of the court arrest drive and said his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party will now move forward with the election campaign.
His tweet came hours after the Supreme Court announced the judgment on a suo moto notice with a 3-2 majority, ordering the holding of the vote within the constitutional timeframe of 90 days.
“We welcome the [Supreme Court] judgement. It was the responsibility of [Supreme Court] to uphold the Constitution and they have valiantly done that through their judgement today,” the former prime minister said.
“We are [therefore] suspending our Jail Bharo movement [and] moving forward with [election] campaigns in KP [and] Punjab.”
We welcome the SC judgement. It was responsibility of SC to uphold Constitution & they have valiantly done that through their judgement today. It is an assertion of Rule of Law in Pak. We are suspending our Jail Bharo movement & moving forward with elec campaigns in KP & Punjab.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 1, 2023
The assemblies of the two provinces were dissolved by Khan on January 14 in an attempt to compel the central government for snap elections, which are scheduled in October this year.
The movement was part of Khan’s campaign that aims to protest the lodging of “sham cases” against the party leaders, including himself, and push the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for early elections.
Khan was deposed as prime minister in April of last year after a contentious no-confidence motion was passed in parliament.
He blamed his unceremonious ouster on a US-backed conspiracy, an allegation that Islamabad and Washington have refuted.
The election commission, in October last year, disqualified Khan for “unlawfully selling gifts” he received from foreign dignitaries, igniting another political turmoil in the country.
— With Anadolu Agency
