LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry has said that they were in favour of a dialogue with political parties and that the talks should only focus on free and fair elections and not on giving amnesty.
“A dialogue was needed to resolve the prevailing political crisis in Pakistan and in this connection, we have also given an undertaking in the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” the former Federal Information Minister said while addressing a press conference here on Friday.
He further said that in the interest of the country, we all need to think beyond political victimisation and hence, the PTI believes that a space should be given to political parties and this was the only way to move forward. “In the past, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has stated that he was willing to forgive everyone in the interest of the country,” he added.
According to him, they dissolved the provincial assemblies so that the elections could be held within 90 days. They thought that general elections would be held after the dissolution of the two assemblies, but the coalition government was violating the Constitution by delaying them; it was violating the Constitution and the superior courts’ orders.
Reacting to PML-N Quaid and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement, Chaudhary said that if a fugitive gives threatening statements then things would not move ahead. The PTI stands by the rule of law and the Constitution, and the entire nation would stand with the Supreme Court, he added.
To a question, he said that the PTI has no problem if Nawaz Sharif returns to the country, but he has to go through a legal process, adding that he can roam free in Pakistan after returning the looted money and they would have no problem with that.
On the death of 12 people during the distribution of free ration in Karachi, the PTI leader said that the loss of lives was a human tragedy. “In the past few weeks, 20 people have lost their lives while trying to obtain ‘atta’ (flour), which reflects the condition of Pakistan's economy. Food riots have started in Pakistan. The media should look into these matters carefully, as the country was in crisis; a single step could push Pakistan towards a civil war,” he added.
“The PTI government was overthrown through a conspiracy, which was removed unconstitutionally and illegally. The coalition government has no answers to the problems. Today, oil prices have crashed in the global market, but it has not been passed on to the people. The economic crisis in Pakistan was in front of everyone,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023