ISLAMABAD – Pakistani cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan’s partyvowed Sunday to oust the country’s “corrupt” rulers, as the nuclear-armedstate announced it will hold general elections on July 25.
The poll will bring to a head political tensions that have been buildingsince former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court oncorruption charges and later barred from politics for life.
Khan is hoping to achieve a years-long dream of leading the country as itsprime minister, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is the mainchallenger to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which washeaded by Sharif until his ban.
PTI leaders have said they are confident they will be able to defeat thePML-N.
“The Pakistani nation… can see the dawn of a new Pakistan, which will notbe ruled by the corrupt,” the party said in a statement posted Sunday onTwitter along with a graphic that read “Mafia’s Game Over”.
“Stop us if you can,” it said in another tweet.
The bullish comments came after Pakistan’s president Mamnoon Hussain onSaturday approved July 25 as the date for the elections, which offer theprospect of what would be only the second-ever democratic transfer of powerin the South Asian country.
The current government, led by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, isexpected to hand over power to a caretaker administration in the comingdays.
Despite Sharif’s ouster, the ruling party says it has invested in improvingPakistan’s rickety infrastructure and attracted billions of dollars inChinese investment. It has also denied allegations of graft against itsleadership by opponents like Khan.
PTI has vowed to fight corruption, presenting itself as a polar opposite ofwhat it calls status-quo politicians.
Since he was ousted, Sharif and the PML-N have become increasingly vocal intheir confrontation with the country’s powerful military establishment andthe courts, claiming there is a conspiracy afoot to reduce the party’spower.
*- Increasing pressure -*
Sharif was the 15th prime minister in Pakistan’s seven-decade history –roughly half of it under military rule — to be removed before completing afull term.
The country saw its first ever democratic transfer of power followingelections in 2013, which the PML-N won by a landslide.
“This is the second consecutive parliament to complete its tenure and weare now looking forward to… (going) to the people to get their verdict onour performance,” Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told AFP.
Despite the numerous court rulings against the PML-N, the party has won astring of recent by-elections, proving it will likely remain a powerfulforce.
It continues to enjoy large swathes of support in Punjab, the country’smost populous province, but will enter the election under increasingpressure.
In April, a Pakistan court disqualified Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif forviolating the country’s election laws, while Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbalwas shot in the arm in a suspected assassination attempt by an Islamistgunman earlier this month.
Sharif also sparked a firestorm after suggesting Pakistani militants werebehind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, approaching what is seen as a red line inthe country by touching on criticism of Pakistan’s military.