Polls announced, then why opposition moved Supreme Court, wonders Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said after he had announced the general elections, what they (opposition) were then doing in the Supreme Court.

Interacting with people and replying to their questions, the PM said he and his team had decided to dissolve the assembly and hold elections. This was done because the opposition had been saying for three-and-a-half years that the government was incompetent and was a selected one.

The interim PM said: “I have announced the election; so why are they going to the Supreme Court now and what they are doing there? “This is what you used to say that this government is incompetent and selected. Now that we have announced the election, what can you do in the Supreme Court?

The premier said in view of the current situation in Pakistan, he thought of going to the public and answering their questions. He said they wanted the government to be restored, it is better to come back (to power) from the decision of the people or to form a government by being part of an outside conspiracy, by buying the conscience of parliamentarians.

“I want to tell you why they want this. Their biggest effort is to get an NRO because they have corruption cases and they are on bail, and have run away, all their efforts are to come to power, and end the cases against them and secure the NRO-II,” he charged.

The PM said they wanted NROs, their empires to be set up, their offices to be set up, their people to be included in the Election Commission, they oppose electronic voting machines (EVMs) in election and that Pakistanis living abroad should not be given the right to vote.

In response to a question about the theft of mandate, the prime minister said that earlier “we did not have experience; now we know them; we have got a lot ofexperience in this election; we will give tickets after a lot of deliberations.”

He said: “Everyone saw that some people sold their conscience. I think their politics will end. I just have to give tickets to those who think of the country and I will interview them myself.” PM Khan said there were people with them who used to blackmail the government all the time; there were people who had no sympathy with people; they were with the government only for their personal benefit, he added.

“This time we have to give party tickets to those who have a vision for Pakistan beyond their person. It doesn’t matter if we lose by giving tickets to such people, but winning with those who can sell their conscience is better than losing,” he added.

In reply to a question, he said people are being bought and taken away in a hotel, in Punjab; people should protest outside the hotel where buying and selling was taking place. “Otherwise our democracy is over”.

The PM directed the people to protest saying “we will hold a peaceful protest outside the Islamabad Red Zone today against the attempt to overthrow the government on the foreign agenda and the betrayal in the country and will also join them”.

He said: “I want to tell my nation that Pakistan’s textile exports are on record, wealth has increased, taxes have increased, exports have increased, Pakistanis have sent record amount from abroad due to which our country was stable now”.

He said since the launch of no-confidence motion, there has been a crisis after crisis in the country; pressure is mounting on Pak Rupee, no one knows what will happen next, it causes economic crisis.

A caller asked whether those who sell votes for money and change political allegiance should be disqualified for life. In response, PM Imran Khan said they should not be disqualified. They should even be put in jail.

Imran Khan said Shehbaz Sharif says that ‘beggars are not choosers’, “so tell me who has made the country beggar, the country has been made beggar by the past rulers”. After 30 years of rule over the country, Shehbaz Sharif’s statement means that because we are in debt, we should be slave to America.

He said, “I am not anti-America; I am not anti-India; I have said many times that I am not against any country; there will be an ignorant person who is against any nation and country.”

He said in order to understand the problems of Karachi, you must first understand the 18th Amendment, which was passed by these two major parties. The Centre gives funds, now it is up to the provincial government to decide how it spends these funds; in this case the federation has no control over the provinces.

He said the PTI would win the next election in Sindh. The worst situation is in Sindh at present and the situation in Karachi was also bad. The development of the city had come to a standstill. Yes, the mayor of the city should be directly elected who has the authority, until this system comes, there will be no development in big cities.

News Desk adds: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Fazlur Rehman meanwhile said on Monday that the opposition could move toward elections once the Constitution was upheld, assembly restored and electoral reforms carried out in the country.

In his press conference, a charged Fazl said in 1988, Balochistan Assembly was dissolved but the court restored it. “The court should take action against the recent violation of the Constitution and not delay it.”

The PDM chief lashed out at the deputy speaker for not taking the opposition’s input while making the decision and censured the president for obeying the prime minister’s directives without asking any questions.

“The entire country had been pushed into a crisis [...] our only demand is that the deputy speaker’s ruling is declared illegal,” Fazl said, terming Suri’s decision “controversial and unconstitutional”.

The PDM chief said the deputy speaker issued a “controversial” decision based on a “controversial letter” as he warned the PTI and the prime minister that the opposition would “not back down”.

“All of these unconstitutional moves are being made to come to power again — illegally,” the PDM chief said, adding that the prime minister had sought a safe exit by dissolving the assemblies.