LAHORE - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Sunday lashed out at former PM Nawaz Sharif, claiming the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader was ‘running away’ from elections because he fears defeat. While addressing the participants of the long march via video link, the former premier said that the protest march is being organised for free and fair elections. “They [the Sharifs] stole money for 30 years and transferred the amount abroad. These people are now deciding the future of the country. These people sitting in London,” he said. “These people never made a decision on merit. They always bring their people to head institutions. They don’t care about the country’s economy,” Imran claimed. Imran also said that the ‘propaganda’ was being done against his party’s long march. “It is being shown as if we are against the public. Imran Khan is not doing a long march to finish his corruption cases. It is very important to use our democratic right and hold fresh elections in the country,” he said. “I have been saying this for the past seven months that coalition government cannot handle the pressure of running the government,” the former premier said, stating that he had been telling the ‘handlers’ that their ‘experiment’ has failed. He further said that no matter how much the government lied, the truth would always come out. “The public has rejected this imported government and the number of people joining the long march has shown this.” Imran also asked the Chief Justice of Pakistan to be “more assertive” and “stand with the people of the country”. “I want to tell my respected chief justice that the nation is looking at you,” he said. “What we are seeing in Pakistan today. People are asking questions about Arshad Sharif ’s murder. The nation saw how he stood on his narrative and he was repeatedly threatened.” The former premier further said that he desires “respectable relations with the US”. “I never wanted to fight with anyone. I was just working on an independent foreign policy. I was working on a foreign policy that was beneficial for the people of Pakistan.” “And with the US we want a foreign policy that India has […] India has relations with the US but they have a lot of self-respect in them, they stand for the interests of their people […] I can never accept slavery under anyone,” he clarified. Imran also recalled that during PTI’s tenure Pakistan was the country that had raised the issue of Islamophobia in the United Nations. “The entire world saw where Pakistan stood during our government.” Imran Khan while slamming the coalition government asked if anyone had a way out of the current crisis in the country. He said that people had lost confidence in the government. “Our debts are increasing and revenue is decreasing. Inflation has increased tremendously during these seven months. Today, I ask the cabinet if they have a solution for these problems.” Imran went on to stress that political stability could only be achieved if the country was economically stable.