LAHORE (NNI): Former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said he will make the announcement to dissolve Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies on Dec 17.
Addressing the people through a video link, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan said that there will be no more consultation on the matter of assemblies as he had taken the opinion of all the party leaders.
He said that the assembly will be dissolved this month and the date of the dissolution will be made public during his address to the people at Liberty Chowk Lahore on December 17. It is pertinent to mention here that PTI will stage a power show at Liberty Chowk in Lahore on Saturday, (December 17), in which party chief Imran Khan is also anticipated to announce the party’s future course of action.
“I have completed consultations with the party leaders and we have decided that in a gathering at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk, I will give my nation the date for the dissolution of the KP and Punjab assemblies,” he asserted. The former premier observed that the dissolution of assemblies would pave the way for elections.
He observed that the law says that as soon as assemblies are dissolved, elections should be held within 90 days. “So on Dec 17, I will give the date and after that 70 percent of the country will go into election mode,” he added. “Simultaneously, our 123-125 National Assembly members whose resignations have not been accepted will ask the speaker inside the assembly to accept their resignations,” he added.
He lamented that country’s leaders are corrupt and convicts. “They do not care about what happens to Pakistan and when bad times take over the country, they will exit the country,” he said.
The former prime minister refuted a general perception about him and said that he was not asking anyone for help, he wanted the establishment to be neutral and its prestige to rise.
“During the tenure of Gen (r) Qamar Bajwa, the distance between the establishment and the people increased,” he observed.
Lamenting his helplessness, the ex-prime minister — who was voted out in April through a no-confidence motion — said when he was in power, former army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa asked him to focus on the economy and not accountability. “Gen (retd) Bajwa told me to grant NRO II to the then-opposition when [the government had to pass laws related to the] Financial Action Task Force.
It was Gen (retd) Bajwa who gave NRO II to the then-opposition.”
Imran Khan said Pakistan needs a strong army and it will be strong only when there is no interference.
He reiterated that the PML-Q is on the same page with the PTI on the issue of the assembly’s dissolution.
Khan said the coalition rulers were worried that if they step down then another government would be formed and their corruption cases would be reopened. “Their interests and the nation’s interests are poles apart.”
“I have never seen cases of big dacoits being closed in my 70 years of experience. I am sure that even banana republics don’t do such things,” Imran Khan said.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan said no country can progress without rule of law and justice as he claimed that Pakistan was on the “brink of destruction” as there was “no rule of law”.
“The poor people are in jail as powerful people are receiving NROs, getting their cases closed, and coming back to the country,” Imran Khan added.
Khan said documentaries have been shot and books written on the corruption of two families that belong to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
“It is so saddening that Suleman Shehbaz came back to Pakistan and addressed a press conference claiming that he was a victim,” Khan said as he asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s son the reason behind the death of the people involved in the case.
The PTI chief said even the people belonging to the “Zardari mafia” will be forgiven, including his sister Faryal Talpur. “The powerful can only survive here.”
The former premier lamented even the people belonging to the “Zardari mafia” will be forgiven, including his sister Faryal Talpur. “The powerful can only survive here,” he added.
“Anybody who understands the economy knows that the first rule is to ensure there is political stability as “markets can’t perform under uncertain situations,” he maintained.
“Investors and businessmen are reluctant to invest their money in Pakistan as the risk of default had grown to 100% as compared to 5% which was left behind by PTI,” he added.
“We are standing on the brink of destruction,” he said, citing injustice major reason behind the economic crisis,” he maintained. He claimed that all of this has been done under a “conspiracy hatched to destroy Pakistan.”
Khan further added that if a country defaults, then national security is the first area to get affected, stating that everybody knows what will “those who help the country bailout” demand if Pakistan defaults.
Criticising the human rights situation in the country, he said that what happened to senior journalist Arshad Sharif, journalist Jamil Farooqi, Senator Azam Swati and others was there to be seen by everyone.
“I was against Musharraf’s martial law but I have never seen such human rights violations as I saw during Gen Bajwa’s tenure,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s biggest federal party was being intentionally targeted and attempts were being made to weaken it.
“Just on one tweet, what did they do to Azam Swati. Everyone knows Gen Bajwa gave NRO 2. They told us to forget about accountability and focus on the economy,” he added.
Imran said that Swati was beaten in front of his grandchildren and his wife was sent an objectionable video. “Does this happen in a civilised society or country,” he questioned.
PTI chief said that he knows who tried to assassinate him. However, he added he could not register FIR as per his wishes despite him being a former prime minister.
“If I can’t [lodge an FIR as per my wish], who can? This is the state of human rights in Pakistan. We say IIOJK have human rights issues but what are we doing here? If judges don’t protect our fundamental rights, who will?” he remarked.
Imran said that when he criticises Musharraf, it doesn’t mean that he is lashing out at the entire institution. Similarly, he added that when he hits out at General Bajwa, he is not criticising the army.
Earlier, the PTI chief chaired a consultative session with lawmakers from Central Punjab and Lahore, in which the members endorsed the decision to dissolve the provincial assembly.
Imran says to announce Punjab, KP assemblies dissolution on Dec 17
