Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) again said Saturday that the conclusion of Dawn Leaks controversy left many questions unanswered, adding it was not a matter just between the government and military. The meeting of the party's Central Executive Committee chaired by PTI Chairman Imran Khan too stock of a number of recent developments including progress in Panama Leaks case, the conclusion of the Dawn Leaks controversy, progress in electoral reforms and internal party issues.
At the outset of the meeting, it condemned the cowardly attack on Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Ghafoor Haideri in Mastung on Friday last in which 27 innocent lives were lost and more than 50 people got injured. The meeting also expressed grief and sorrow over assassination of labourers in Gwadar. Expressing heartfelt condolence with the bereaved families, the meeting called upon the provincial government to improve security in the province and also provide relief and assistance to the affected persons.
The meeting also took note of the Dawn Leaks episode and felt that its conclusion has left many questions unanswered. At the outset, the meeting felt that this was not a matter just between the government and the armed forces but the entire nation was hurt by the slurs cast on the Pakistan Army. The Dawn Leaks contained a narrative that was anti-Pakistan and it hurt the sentiments of every citizen. It is, therefore, critically important that the final inquiry report be released to the public so that the nation can know what the issue was, who committed the national security breach and on what basis the settlement of the issue was finalised. Keeping everything in the dark, the meeting felt, does not serve the national interest.
The meeting also discussed the ongoing working of the Joint Investigation Team into the Panama Papers case. Though the PTI has concerns that the sitting Prime Minister can influence the investigations being conducted by his subordinates, the party has complete faith in the Supreme Court and has accepted its decision to form a JIT to investigate the matter.
However, it is critically important that JIT conducts its proceedings as transparently as possible. The people of Pakistan have a right to know and this right cannot be abridged by any notion of investigative secrecy. Secondly, it is also important that the JIT completes its probe in given timeframe assigned by the Supreme Court. Any delay will lead to suspicion that Nawaz Sharif and his family want to drag out the process to make it less effective.
The CEC meeting also expressed grave concern over the treatment being meted out by the government to the farmers who are either unable to sell their wheat or being paid prices much below the official support price. It noted that ever since this government has come into power it has targeted the farming community and created such dire circumstances for them that their very existence has come under threat.
The CEC also passed a resolution for voting rights for overseas Pakistanis and called for proper reforms in the electoral system in order to make upcoming elections free, fair and transparent. Secretary General PTI Jehangir Khan Tareen while convening the meeting greeted all the members of the CEC and stated that PTI has entered into the most critical phase of its struggle. The party, he said, faces multiple challenges including its organisation.
"It is high time that we organise ourselves to the grassroots level and prepare for a greater cause of eliminating corruption from the country for which our chairman has always stood tall and firm," he added. The Central Executive Committee deliberated exclusively upon the organisational and intra-party affairs and jointly approved a period of one month for intra-party elections.
Vice-Chairman PTI Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the meeting apprised the CEC of the proposed amendments to the constitution and stressed upon the need to make party constitution completely functional and implemented. The committee subsequently approved these amendments to the constitution unanimously. Chairman PTI Imran Khan concluded all important session of the committee by directing PTI Chief Election Commissioner Senator Azam Khan Swati to hold intra-party elections within the stipulated period of one month in a fair, just and transparent method. He reiterated his ideal of making the party an institution and not the family limited entity. He also said that PTI is all ready and determined to face an unprecedented electoral contest in the form of the general election.
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