LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court of Pakistan verdict on Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) polls and announced the suspension of “jail bharo” (volunteer arrest) movement.
In a tweet, the former prime minister said that the party was suspending its movement and moving forward with election campaigns in KP and Punjab.
“It was the responsibility of the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution and they have valiantly done that through their judgment today. It was an assertion of the rule of law in Pakistan,” he added.
Meanwhile, the PTI chief chaired a party meeting, which deliberated on the country’s political situation, the party’s political strategy and the coalition government’s attacks on the judiciary and judges.
On the occasion, the party leadership welcomed the decision of the 5-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and condemned the attacks on the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court judges, under the patronage of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
While addressing the meeting, the former premier accused the rulers of deviating from the path of democracy and the Constitution, adding that they were perpetually attacking the judiciary.
“The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) made a reprehensible attempt to put pressure on the judiciary through a shameful campaign against honourable judges under the supervision of the Prime Minister. These rulers have a dark history of buying judges and physically attacking the courts,” he added.
He commended the judges for bravely resisting the pressure and upholding the Constitution. He noted that he never accepted violation of the constitution and nor he would accept it in the future.
“The recent Supreme Court’s decision has restored rule of law in the country,” he added.
He saw the PTI’s “jail bharo” movement would be remembered in golden words in the country’s political history; “I pay tribute to the party leaders and workers who voluntarily presented themselves for arrests by breaking the chains of fear,” he added.
He also castigated the government for showing “shameful behaviour by registering terrorism cases against the citizens and the party workers for coming out on Tuesday last to welcome me in a very peaceful manner”.
He also took a dig at the coalition government for the economic meltdown and making the lives of poor people miserable; “the people were facing unprecedented inflation, which was caused by this incompetent government. Inflation of food items in rural areas was at a record level of 47 percent while the prices of essential items in urban areas have increased by 42 percent,” he added.
He noted that the only way to pull the country out of the current crisis was to hold free and transparent elections without any delay. He urged the PTI workers and activists to prepare for the elections in Punjab and KP, adding that he would lead the election campaign personally. He cautioned that he would allow anyone to derail the elections.
The meeting decided to complete the process of selecting candidates for the elections in Punjab and KP and ordered the party’s political committee to prepare and announce vigorous election campaigns in the two provinces. The party leaders also enforced the decision to suspend the nationwide “jail bharo” movement.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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