ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PTI) on Friday categorically said that the party would opt for “confrontational” politics in the face of the treatment meted out to the party by government institutions.
Talking to the media outside Parliament House, PTI leader Asad Qaiser along with party secretary-general Omar Ayub Khan and chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan declared that PTI would be “fighting” the government in parliament and also on the roads.
“Let me categorically say that we will have a confrontation now. I want to assure my workers that this is a long war. It’s not short. We still have a long way to go,” he added. He continued that “we will fight them in the parliament and also on the roads as we are preparing ourselves for a confrontation”.
“We will not back down, be it any kind of pressure,” said Qaiser.
Lambasting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s actions, Qaiser claimed whoever wanted to become a parliamentarian should be on good terms with the electoral watchdog and “bribe” the officials working there. “The target is to give 20 more [National Assembly] seats to the PML-N,” the PTI MNA added. “They are taking our seats. They already took one yesterday. 19 from Punjab are left now. Who will believe in this parliament?” Qaiser suggested that the ECP should just issue a notification of the winner instead of wasting the public’s money to “hold a sham of an election”.
He also said the way ordinances were presented in the National Assembly earlier today, bypassed all the rules. “This is not a parliament anymore. It has become a Majlis-e-Shoora which [General] ZiaulHaq had formed,” he asserted, adding that the government was blatantly violating the Constitution and laws.
Towards the end of his media talk, he urged National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to immediately notify Ayub as the incumbent opposition leader and halt the “delay tactics”.
On the other hand, Ayub said the government flouted all NA rules to propose amendments to seven ordinances. “Only the government knows about the amendments that have to be made. The so-called law minister said it’s because the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is here. What is the link of criminal law with the IMF,” he added. He accused the ruling coalition of intending to privatize institutions at the behest of the IMF. He warned that the brunt of these decisions would be faced by the masses.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024