ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday said the National Assembly, and not the head of a violent gang (Imran Khan), would decide when to announce fair and transparent general election in the country.
He was speaking in the National Assembly after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan called off his ‘real independence march’ early Thursday without staging a sit-in at D-Chowk and gave a six-day ultimatum to the government to announce elections in June and dissolve the assemblies.
The PM said he would not take dictation from the head of a gang. “If the PTI chairman was only concerned about elections, then he and his party members should have come to the Parliament.”
The PM told Imran Khan that he should not remain under any illusion, as still one year and two months were left for the government to complete its term.
“We are open to talks. Dialogue is the trait of politicians. I can constitute a committee. But, if you think you will pressurise, blackmail or threaten us to leave the government, keep in mind, do it in your own house, not this House,” he said.
He said that the House would have to decide whether to see destruction of country and allow Fasad, or re-start journey of development. “Whether we are going to construct the country or destruct it,” he added.
PM Shehbaz said they would not allow Imran Khan to repeat bitter memories of 2014 sit-in and the time which he wasted on abusing the opposition, calling its leaders dacoits and thieves. “If we allow them to repeat the history, then nothing will be left with us,” he said.
“Now when we are striving to revive the economy, the politics of agitation and violence has been started, and it was openly said that he will reach D-Chow at every cost,” he said. The PM said he had directed the law enforcement authorities that no personnel would carry live weapons, to avert any loss of life and took utmost care in this connection. But still they came with the head of a provincial government, attacked Centre with the connivance of armed groups, and staged a bloody march, Shehbaz regretted. The head of an armed jatha (gang) inflicted losses on entire country, he added.
The PM said the officers and jawans of law-enforcement agencies and Pakistan Army rendered sacrifices to eliminate the menace of terrorism. However, he regretted that a day before slogans of ‘Jihad were raised in Peshawar, questioning whether the PTI leadership was going to wage jihad against India.
He called upon the House to pass a resolution to prevent incidents and politics of violence so that protection of lives and properties could be ensured by any government today, and in future. He said now and onward in future, no one would be allowed to spread chaos and mischief in country.
He also regretted how the superior judiciary was maligned saying that he (Imran) used derogatory language for the chief justice when a verdict was given against him. Mentioning that a cache of weapons was recovered by the police, he said such Fasad (anarchy) would not be allowed to continue any longer. “Everybody knows that what purpose the weapons were to be used,” he added.
“Neither any walls were climbed nor arrests were made,” he said apparently in reply to Imran Khan’s allegations that raids were conducted on houses of his party leaders and activists. “I am happy that the House, while passing the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, today laid foundation of fair and transparent elections,” he said.
He also pointed out that the Imran Niazi government left behind landmines for the incumbent government by not increasing prices of petroleum products despite upward trend in the international market.
Shehbaz also lauded the personnel of law enforcement agencies, including Islamabad Police, Rangers, FC, traffic police, district administration and other institutions for ensuring law and order in the federal capital and protecting lives and properties of the people. He announced a package for the martyred policeman in Lahore and other police officials, who got injuries during the PTI long march.
Condemning the life imprisonment to Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik by the Indian court, Shehbaz expressed the resolve that the people of Pakistan would continue support for the release of the Kashmiri leader and the freedom of Kashmir as per the UN Resolutions.
Earlier, to the disbelief of many, especially those belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), party chairman Imran Khan called off his ‘real independence march’ early Thursday and gave a six-day ultimatum to the government to announce elections in June and dissolve the assemblies.
With this announcement, PTI’s march ended hours after the party activists entered Islamabad, and the former premier went to his residence Bani Gala, leaving the party leaders and workers to also return to their respective areas.
Addressing his party leaders and workers here at Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, Imran said the government should dissolve the assemblies and announce elections in June; otherwise, he will come back to Islamabad with workers from all over the country.
The PTI chairman said he had decided to sit there till the date of election was announced, but the country saw chaos in last 24 hours. The government, he charged, was trying to create hatred among people and the police. “The government wants us to fight the army and the police, but the police are also ours, and the people also ours. We have not come to divide the country but to make it a nation. I am giving six days to the government; if the assemblies are not dissolved and elections are not announced in June, I will gather workers from all over the country and come back to Islamabad,” he warned.
“The nation is ready to make every sacrifice for freedom. I reached here from Peshawar on a container, braving tear-gas shelling on the way, the sanctity and privacy of homes was violated. Every method was used to thwart the freedom movement, but I saw that the nation was free from the fear of slavery,” he noted.
Imran said the way the freedom march participants fought tear-gas shelling is unprecedented, saying, “my nation is ready to make every sacrifice for freedom. A fear is created that if we do not beg and get loans, then the country will not run. An imported government was imposed on the country under the US conspiracy which will not be accepted by the nation under any circumstances”.
He continued that Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq were part of the US conspiracy; more than half of the incumbent cabinet is on bail. The imported prime minister and his son were to be convicted. He wondered what would be more insulting to the nation than handing over power to thieves, he added.
“The manner in which we were ousted has caused a lot of outrage among the public. People from all walks of life in Pakistan are united. I pay tribute to the Supreme Court and thank it for taking note of the unconstitutional and illegal actions of the fascist government. I request judges of the Supreme Court that there is no democratic country in the world in which peaceful protests are not allowed,” he said and asked “in which democratic country of the world, peaceful protesters are tortured, and tear gas is used against them”.
He asked whether roads are blocked by standing containers there. Whether houses of political workers are raided at night, and they are arrested and put in jails, he questioned. “One of our colleagues was killed by throwing him into Attock River, and another one in River Ravi. Three people are also reported to have been martyred in Karachi. Our workers were lathi-charged and shelled; thousands of workers were arrested. If they can enter the house of Justice (retd) Nasira Iqbal, what will happen to the common man? Those who have looted the country for 30 years have been imposed on us again,” he regretted.
Imran asked if his party had no right to protest peacefully, adding “I want justice for my Pakistanis from the Supreme Court and the lawyer community, as a criminal prime minister has appointed another criminal as the IGP Islamabad”.
He urged the Supreme Court “to save the FIA from the Sharif mafia”; otherwise, in future an FIA officer would not be able to investigate any powerful (person). He asked whether his government had blocked the long march of Bilawal Bhutto and Fazlur Rehman. “Why it is not our right to protest peacefully,” he asked. “Our freedom movement includes women and children; our workers were lathi-charged and shelled, I salute the women of the nation,” he added.
