NEW YORK - Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan has said that anger over corruption and the sluggish economy is fueling a ‘revolution’ that will oust the ruling coalition in elections he predicts will be held this year.
Described as Pakistan’s ‘rising political star’ in an interview with San Francisco Chronicle and Bloomberg news, the former cricket captain forecast that his party will be able to feed off the sense of public grievance to end 15 years on the political margins.
“If the two big parties get together against us, they will still lose because Pakistan has changed,” Khan, 59, said in Islamabad. “There is a revolution that has taken place.”
Imran’s challenge comes as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is engaged in confrontations with the Supreme Court and the Army, raising the chances that the vote scheduled for February 2013 may be called early, the dispatch pointed out.
“Public opinion is firmly behind the Supreme Court,” Imran was quoted as saying. “If the court passes a contempt judgment against Gilani, then the people will be standing behind the court. And I will certainly be there if Gilani tries to take on the court.”
He discounted rumors in Pakistan that the Army may be positioning to oust the government as it has done on three previous occasions. “I don’t see the chance of military intervention,” he said. “Pakistan has moved on. The time of military coups has gone.”
Khan repeated his call for a ceasefire and negotiations with the militants. “You can’t talk and fight,” Khan said. Militant strikes have killed at least 35,000 Pakistanis since 2006, according to government estimates. He has also supported pulling out of a security alliance with the US, arguing that American strikes along the border with Afghanistan fuel violence in Pakistan and help the Pakistani Taliban recruit followers.
“Pakistan can’t be a war zone and expect investment,” Khan said. “Every day the government stays in power, the economy is sinking. As a Pakistani, the quicker the election is held the better.”