LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said Pakistan is not in a position to allow any delay in the general elections; “the country is passing through a critical juncture and thus compromising the transparency of elections would be equivalent to enmity with the nation.”
“Free and fair election was a serious matter and hence only persons with integrity and clean reputation should be eligible for an interim government,” he said while chairing a meeting of the PTI Parliamentary Committee here on Thursday. The meeting deliberated on Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Naveed Cheema and Naseer Khan for the slot of the caretaker chief minister.
While addressing the meeting, the former Prime Minister further said that they have nominated people with impeccable reputations and abilities for the interim chief minister. “It would be a mistake to give a free hand to the rulers who were scared of elections. The constitutional responsibility of setting up an interim government should be completed and subsequently, the people should be given their right to vote without any delay,” he added.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh called on the PTI Chairman to brief him on the current political situation in Sindh.
On this occasion, the PTI chairman directed Haleem to take up the local government elections issue with full force. He strongly condemned the Sindh government for registering fake cases against the PTI parliamentarians and workers. On this occasion, Haleem alleged rigging in the second phase of the Sindh local government elections. He accused the police, Commissioner and the workers of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party of stamping ballot papers in broad daylight.
He said that the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was very disappointing and added that the brutality of the Sindh government was growing against the PTI leaders and workers.
After the meeting, the Opposition Leader told the media that all PTI provincial legislators have handed over their resignations to the party chief. “On the orders of the party chairman the resignations would be sent to the Sindh Assembly Speaker,” he added. Rejecting the results, he said that when the PTI Chairman returns to the National Assembly with a two-thirds majority, fresh local government elections would be held across the country. Meanwhile, while talking to a select group of journalists, the former premier said that his political party’s vote bank would not be affected by his disqualification, as the people would vote for his party’s narrative. He observed that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) failed to deliver on all fronts and he blamed Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for the economic meltdown.
Khan also said that voices were being raised within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). “I still have many cards to surprise the PDM. The dissolution of the Punjab Assembly was a master stroke against the PDM, which would be remembered for decades,” he added.
He pointed out that Chaudhry Nisar was the first person who had raised his voice against the dynastic politics in the PML-N, adding that the PTI was not considering taking out protest rallies if a schedule of the elections were not announced. The PTI chief alleged that the PDM parties misused public resources; “only the PTI government could bring the country out of the current crisis”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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