No deal with Elahi: Fawad Chaudhry

LAHORE: PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said Thursday there was no deal with Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi to make him the chief minister after elections.

Speaking in a TV programme, he said that in fact Elahi did not put across any conditions for siding with PTI.

When asked how would the PTI fare in elections when the election commission remains unchanged, Fawad said the PTI has already won many elections under this commission as no one could counter the massive public support.

The anchor reminded Fawad about Imran Khan’s statement that his name has been marked red, and asked does it mean the PTI is going to face an institution, Fawad replied PTI it is not about competing with an institution, rather it a situation that is not new in history.

He quoted the example of the late Benazir Bhutto’s return during Gen Zia’s period. Fawad said, “A lot was done to stop Benazir, but she could not be stopped. We don’t fall in that category either. We want a working relationship with the establishment. We want to give each other (opponents, establishment) space to move forward.”

He said the PTI still wants to confer with the government on a national election plan but the government is concerned only with its cases and foreign tours.

When asked that if the central government doesn’t agree to conduct elections, wouldn’t PTI be back to square one by having lost two provincial governments, Fawad said that in that case, the PTI would form stronger governments and there would be stability in at least two provinces for five years.

He said the PPP is a bigger hurdle to fresh elections than the PMLN. He said the PPP does not want new elections because of its (poor) performance (in Sindh).