Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has stated that his organization will not participate in any negotiations if the government continues to insist on holding elections in September or October.
ISLAMABAD:
After a second round of talks failed to resolve the disagreement over when to hold elections, opposition leader and former prime minister Imran Khan said on Friday that there was no point in continuing talks if the ruling coalition wanted to hold elections in September or October and that he wanted the National Assembly dissolved immediately and snap elections held.
Just outside the Islamabad High Court, PTI chief Imran told reporters that his party was ready to talk to the existing rulers about the upcoming elections after attempting for almost a year.
But he added that he had instructed PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Fawad Chaudhry, who were handling negotiations on his behalf, to demand an early dissolution of parliament and new elections.
The government has the initiative now. According to him, this is the only viable option for holding nationwide elections on the same day.
A reporter probed Imran on whether or not he was intentionally trying to “sabotage” the discussions with this statement.
The chairman of the PTI responded that he had made no such comment.
Imran responded to a question regarding a possible return to the National and provincial assembly if negotiations with the administration were successful by asking whether or not the Constitution was being enforced.
The administration is attempting to disobey the law. On the other hand, we at PTI follow it religiously. The rule of law is important to us. They’re breaking the law as well as the Constitution. He went on to say, “They are now resorting to contempt of court.”
A reporter wanted to know what would happen if the elections scheduled for Punjab on May 14 were postponed.
In response, the PTI leader said the Constitution would be disregarded.
See Chief Justice’s statement that the court cannot compel parties to negotiate
General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa, the previous army head, placed a “group of thieves” on them, he said.
Imran further claimed that negotiations with the ruling coalition had dragged on for a year despite the PTI’s best efforts, with the latter having made no concrete proposals to yet.
The PTI leader explained to another reporter that the disclosures of private phone conversations were the work of eavesdroppers.
During an interview with reporters, PTI president Imran Khan referred to former army chief Gen (ret.) Qamar’s assessment of him as “a dangerous man,” adding that if the Constitution were to be violated, whoever was in power would get their way.
We oppose the Pakistan Democratic Movement and support the Constitution. No one is even close to being on par with me,” he went on.
Upon being asked about the statements made by former army chief Gen (ret) Qamar and journalist Hamid Mir regarding the Kashmir dispute, Imran responded that he knew even more about the matter but that he could not discuss it because it involved national security.
He went on to declare that he did not want to say anything that would spark a worldwide scandal and hurt Pakistan’s reputation.
