Khan’s party to court arrest in push for early vote

Bloomberg

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan said his party will court arrest to protest the government’s refusal to hold early elections and fight the tough measures being put in place to unlock a crucial loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party will continue its campaign to push for early elections — and will take to the streets and launch a so-called “jail bharo tehreek,” filling up the country’s jails to fight what he called the Shehbaz Sharif government’s constitutional “violation” of avoiding a test at the ballot.
“Pakistan will go bankrupt if the government fails to hold early elections,” Khan told foreign journalists at his Lahore residence. “Only that will ensure political stability.”
The flamboyant former cricket captain still enjoys popular support in the country and has been holding huge rallies to press Sharif into snap polls. Sharif had joined forces with other parties to oust Khan from power about a year ago. His term ends in August.
The political situation risks escalating just as the current government takes key steps toward unlocking a crucial bailout from the IMF. In the absence of this
financing, Pakistan faces a default as the nation’s forex reserves have depleted to less than $3 billion, hardly enough for one month of
imports.