Govt ready to 'destroy foundation of Pakistan' to avoid elections: Imran Khan

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that it was immaterial whether the Supreme Court heard his party's plea with a five-member bench or a full court as what matters most to his party is whether elections will take place in accordance with the Constitution's provisions or not.

The PTI chief's remarks come Thursday on the heels of the dissolution of the apex court's five-member bench as Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan recused himself from the bench hearing the election delay case under Article 184(3).

The hearing of the PTI's plea against the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to delay the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not take place on Thursday. The top court was set to resume the hearing at 11:30am. However, the hearing was delayed following Justice Amin-Ud-Din's recusal.

Reacting to the development, Imran Khan said on social media: "Whether it's a five-member SC bench or a full bench, it makes no difference to us bec all we want to know is if elections will be held within the 90 days' constitutional provision."

Expressing shock over the recent development, he said, "Before we dissolved our two provincial assemblies, I consulted our top constitutional lawyers, all of whom were absolutely clear that the 90-day Constitutional provision on holding of elections was inviolable."

The PTI chief, who was ousted from the premiership through a vote of no-confidence, has been demanding early elections ever since his ouster in April last year. Later, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assemblies were dissolved in January this year at his behest as part of the PTI's strategy to win early elections. However, the latest turn of events saw the dissolution of the bench hearing the party's plea for elections in the two provinces.

The PTI chief termed the development a mockery of the Constitution by what he called 'the government of criminals and their handlers'. He said, "Now the imported government of crooks, their handlers and a compromised Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) are making a complete mockery of the Constitution."

"By cherry-picking which Articles of the Constitution they will abide by, they are threatening the very foundation of Pakistan, which is the Constitution and Rule of Law," he noted.

According to Imran Khan, the recent action by the government and its allies clearly demonstrates that they are so afraid of holding elections and desperate to save their leaders to the extent that they are willing to dismantle the Constitution and disregard any principles of rule of law.

"So petrified are they of elections and so desperate to whitewash their convicted leaders that they are prepared to destroy the Constitution and any semblance of Rule of Law," he added.