IK agrees to one-point APC agenda proposal

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has agreed to a proposal to call an All-Parties Conference (APC) to discuss general elections and to reduce political friction among political parties.

“A delegation of senior journalists met the former Prime Minister and proposed to call an APC to discuss upcoming elections. The PTI chief agreed to the proposal and said that all forums must be utilised to raise voices for the conduct of elections,” said PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry while addressing a press conference alongside party leader Pervez Khattak here on Tuesday.

The delegation comprising journalists Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami and Imtiaz Alam, and human rights activist Hussain Naqi called on the PTI chairman and discussed the tense political atmosphere and its repercussion for democracy in Pakistan.

The former Federal Information Minister welcomed the proposal and said that the APC should only focus on one agenda: a framework for the upcoming elections to ensure transparency and its date.

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Imtiaz Alam and Hussain Naqi told the media that the political situation of the country has become critical and this could lead to a political or constitutional breakdown. “During the meeting with Imran Khan, we shared the idea of holding an APC to reduce political friction among the political parties. We have invited the former premier and extend the invitation to other political leaders to sit together to formulate a mutually agreeable framework for holding free and fair elections in the country,” they added.

According to them, all political parties, including the PTI, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F), would be invited to sit together on a single-point agenda to find a way to address the current political crisis and pave the way for transparent elections in the country. In the first phase, a constructive dialogue would be encouraged among all political parties and recommendations of the APC would be given a legal and constitutional cover through the Parliament.

“The PTI Chairman took our proposal seriously and ensured his full cooperation for confidence-building among different political parties. We appeal to all political parties to support the APC initiative for strengthening democracy in the country,” they added.

PTI leader senior leader Pervez Khattak said that the government was running away from the election; they knew they could not defeat the PTI and Imran Khan. He continued that the government was registering fake cases against the PTI workers, noting that “it was us who faced the brutalities of the state”.

He reiterated that their only demand was free and fair elections in the country, but the government was destabilising Pakistan through its suppressive actions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023