Caretaker prime minister has clearly explained his government’s strategy in relation to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its chairman Imran Khan, who is in jail. According to him, “fair” elections are possible without PTI chairman, adding that thousands of PTI members, who were not part of the May 9 violence will be running the political process and participating in the elections.

He seems to have made it clear that the incarcerated PTI leadership, including chairman Imran Khan and vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, will not be able to contest the elections.

The prime minister has attracted a plausible response from a beleaguered party through which it has declared that the elections without the party chief will have no legitimacy. The prime minister appears to have sent a strong message across that the establishment wouldn’t grant the PTI leadership clemency.

The caretaker prime minister often sounds quite hostile towards the PTI leadership.

But what is more important to note is prime minister’s reply to a question whether he would recommend the judiciary to overturn Imran’s conviction and enable him to run in the elections. According to the PM, he will not interfere with decisions by the judiciary. The then military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq had offered an identical answer to a question about a convicted Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The question was raised by a foreign journalist. He had asked Gen Zia whether or not he (Gen Zia) would consider giving Bhutto clemency. Gen Zia’s answer was that he would not interfere with decisions by the judiciary.

Nazim Husain Siddiqui (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023