Imran Khan, the head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), stated on Wednesday that his group is not currently in contact with the new military command.

The ousted prime minister asserted that the general elections would be held in April 2023 while denying any connections to army leader General Syed Asim Munir.

The leader of PTI claimed that the government will now be "forced to hold general elections this April" and blamed former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa for "helping the government in ruling the country."

When they took office, they resolved corruption cases totaling Rs. 1,100 billion, the man claimed.

The former premier blamed the current administration for the nation's economic crisis and emphasised that the only way to resolve these issues is through free and fair elections. He also added that Pakistan's economic situation have never been this bad.

The PTI leader asserted that the current administration, which is headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was installed through horse trading.

The PTI leader continued by saying that the coalition's rulers had maintained their legal immunity and resolved the corruption issues in which they had been implicated in the past. "All of the cases against Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, and Maryam Nawaz have been dismissed."

He claimed that his party had "sacrificed" two assemblies—Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab—in order to advance toward free and fair elections. The current situation will force this government to call elections in April.

"Sri Lanka-like circumstance"

The former prime minister cited the fact that neither domestic nor foreign investors trust the current administration as the cause of the continued economic crisis.

"Pakistan has been sucked into a mucky situation. We require free and fair elections to prevent the nation from falling into a Sri Lanka-like situation, "added the PTI chairman.

The foreign exchange reserves had fallen to $4 billion, and commodities of the same value were being held at the ports due to a lack of dollars, according to Khan, who expressed his concern that another economic crisis was on the horizon.

The PTI leader claimed that "commodity prices are rising, unemployment is rising, and factories are closing."

With the rupee falling and inflation at decades-high levels, Pakistan's economy has collapsed amid a brewing political crisis. Devastating floods and a severe energy deficit have added to the pressure.

Pakistan is particularly sensitive to economic shocks due to its massive national debt, which is at $274 billion ($almost 90% of GDP), and the endless effort required to service it.

Punjab's establishment's function

The former prime minister clarified the political climate in Punjab by claiming that the establishment attempted to instal Parvez Elahi as chief minister with the support of the PML-N.

The former prime minister stated, "Elahi was faithful to us; we had to repay the favour, and now they will be amalgamated in PTI and become a part of us.

Someone should inquire as to why they overthrew our administration through a foreign conspiracy, he continued.

Khan continued by stating that throughout the previous 17 years, the economy had performed admirably under our government. Why was our government overthrown? What did we do wrong?

The former prime minister claimed that PTI was unable to maintain the economy after being removed from office, adding that "Gen Bajwa was advised that if this plot becomes successful then the economy could not be sustained."

The market immediately lost faith in the incumbents since they were unable to preserve the economic situation, the former premier continued.

They discovered after taking office that they had no plan for improving Pakistan's economic situation.