ISLAMABAD:Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the elections have been announced on the demand of the opposition parties.

Responding to telephone calls by Pakistanis on Monday, he said the opposition parties had been criticizing the performance of the government over the last three and a half years and now the question is why have they gone to the Supreme Court when their demand has been accepted and the assembly dissolved.

The Prime Minister said the opposition parties want government only to abolish National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and their corruption cases. He said they want to manage polls by making changes at different levels including the bureaucracy.

Responding to a query, the Prime Minister said Pakistan cannot progress unless such people come to the parliament who think of the country. He said party tickets for the elections will be awarded after careful consideration and that he will personally interview the candidates.

He said the politics has ended of those who defected from the party. Answering a caller, Imran Khan said he will join the protest demonstration being organized outside the Red Zone of Islamabad on Monday night to expose turncoats, who change their loyalties for the sake of money, and foreign conspiracy against his government.

Replying to a question, the Prime Minister said he is not anti-American and he wants cordial relations with all the countries, including the United States, but these ties should be based on mutual respect, honour and dignity. Responding to a caller from Karachi, he said his party wants a directly elected mayor for Karachi to ensure availability of civic facilities and development.