Khan claims election win
Outlines vision for new Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Former cricket star Imran Khan has claimed victory in Pakistan’s parliamentary election and vowed to run the country ‘‘as it has never before been run’’ by fighting corruption, seeking regional cooperation and forging a new relationship with the United States that was not ‘‘onesided’’.
Pakistan’s Election Commission has declared Khan’s party the winner of Pakistan’s historic third consecutive election of a civilian government but he did not win an outright majority and must form a coalition.
After days of slow vote counting, Khan’s Pakistan TehreekeInsaf party (PTI) won 114 of 269 seats in the National Assembly, his nearest rival, Shahbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN), winning 63 seats.
Sharif, who heads the party of his brother, jailed exprime minister Nawaz Sharif, told the Englishlanguage Dawn newspaper PMLN ‘‘would play the role of a strong opposition’’.
Khan (65) proclaimed his triumph in an address to the nation, in which he pledged to create an Islamic welfare state to provide education and employment for the poor to fulfil a campaign promise to create 10 million jobs.
‘‘Today in front of you, in front of the people of Pakistan, I pledge I will run Pakistan in such a way as it has never before been run,’’ Khan said, vowing to wipe out corruption, strengthen institutions he called dysfunctional and regain national pride by developing international relationships based on respect and equality.
While Khan appeared casual and conciliatory in his speech, his words were laced with passion. He said the US treated Pakistan like a mercenary, giving it billions of dollars to fight the war on terrorism in a region beset with militant extremists.
‘‘Unfortunately, so far our relations were onesided. America thinks that it gives Pakistan money to fight for them. Because of this Pakistan suffered a lot,’’ said Khan, who has been critical of the USled conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Seeking good relations with his neighbours, Khan addressed Pakistan’s rival, India. The two nuclear powers have had a longrunning conflict over the disputed region of Kashmir.
‘‘Take one step towards us and we will take two steps towards you,’’ he said in a peace offering while still decrying widespread human rights abuses in Kashmir.
Khan also advocated an open border policy with Afghanistan, even suggesting the two countries embrace a ‘‘European Union’’ type relationship. The plan seems unlikely, with Pakistan’s military already building hundreds of border outposts and an accompanying fence along its western frontier with Afghanistan despite oftenviolent opposition from Kabul.
Khan focused on what he wanted to do for the poor in Pakistan and his vision of a country that bowed to noone, where everyone was equal under the law and taxes were paid by the rich to fund services for the less fortunate.
His message of a new Pakistan seemed to resonate with young voters in a country where 64% of its 200 million people are under 30. — AP