Hung parliament would be disastrous: Imran

PTI chief says rather sit on opposition benches than form alliance with PML-N, PPP

MULTAN/BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said it would be unfortunate if a “hung parliament” comes into being as a result of the forthcoming elections.

In an interview with BBC on Friday, he said that the country needs a powerful government and a hung parliament is always weak. “In a situation like this when Pakistan is facing economic crisis and difficulties, a strong government is needed which could make big decisions,” he added.

Khan said that he would rather prefer to sit on the opposition benches than form an alliance with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). “I warn that if a coalition is needed, PTI will neither join hands with PML-N nor with PPP because their leaders are corrupt,” he added. Khan said that the PTI would try to form the government without them.

He said that reforms cannot be brought with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nor PPP. He added that the campaign cannot be run against corruption and the Federal Board of Revenue cannot be reformed.

The PTI chairman said that everyone opposed him when he raised the issue of rigging in the last general election. He added that PTI had demanded investigations in four constituencies so that fair and transparent elections could be held in 2018.

“I was protesting alone on the roads then and now you see that all parties are complaining of rigging even before the polls,” he said adding “They should have Imran loathes possibility of hung parliament accepted their mistakes and passed laws that would prevent the same mistakes.”

“Now they fear that they are going to lose the elections,” he said and added that they also fear that their own umpires are not managing the match, which was the case in the last polls.

Khan said that his first priority is to improve the economy. He appealed in a video message to the people of Sindh and of Karachi in particular to participate in the PTI gathering at Mazar-e-Quaid. He said that the Karachi rally will be a big one.

“The institutions in Sindh were destroyed badly. The resources were looted ruthlessly,” Khan said adding, “75 per cent of the population of the province is living under the poverty line while in Tharparkar 85 per cent people are living under poverty line.”

He said that the province has been turned into a garbage heap. “The people of Karachi and Sindh should come out of their houses and attend the rally at the Mazar,” Khan added.

The PTI chairman will address a rally in Bannu today. According to APP, he congratulated Fakhar Zaman on his historic success and offered good wishes.



PTI rallies

PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Friday said that Bhasha Dam is a priority along with other plans for conserving and recycling water.
Addressing a public gathering at Bahawalpur, he said, “Will free the country from oppression, get rid of the loans and straighten the national institutions along with bringing respect for the police.” He was accompanied by PTI’s candidate Farooq Azam from Bahawalpur.

He said that the fate of Pakistan is going to be decided on July 25. Khan asked the people to vote for the country and decide its future. He said that people who do not vote in the elections are self-centred.
He said that the previous governments had drowned the people in foreign loans. He said that they had been taking turns for the last 30 years.

“When governments leave, they leave behind empty treasuries and Maulana Fazlur Rehman,” he said adding “ten years ago, Pakistan had foreign loans of Rs6,000 billion and now this number has gone up to Rs28,000 billion.”

He said that 90 per cent tax is collected from the people in the form of indirect taxes like GST while only 10 per cent of tax is collected in the form of property tax.



The PTI chairman said that almost half the population of Pakistan is living below the poverty line.

Khan said that there is only one major hospital in the form of Nishtar Hospital Multan in South Punjab. He added that the Metro Bus Multan was started solely for the purpose of corruption. “Rs60 billion were spent on that project whereas a quality hospital could have been built for far less,” he added. Khan gave examples of Shaukat Khanum Hospital Peshawar, which was completed with the budget of Rs4 billion.

“You could imagine the situation of Punjab Police through the words of Inspector Abid Boxer who said that he used to kill for Shehbaz Sharif,” he said, adding “you could not find a single incident in K-P where police was advised to do any such act and no case was registered against his political rivals.”

He said that it has never been done in the history of Pakistan that any party fired 30 of his party members over corruption charges but PTI did that.

He said that farmers would grow crops with half the water while canal’s water management will also be improved. Khan added that it is in their manifesto to provide best available facilities to the farmers so they can get better crop output.



Khan also addressed a public gathering at Qasim Fort in Multan. He said that Zardari and Nawaz Sharif are involved in the economic murder of the people of Pakistan. “Even the value of Afghan, Nepal and Bangladesh currency is greater than that of Pakistan,” he added.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and candidates from Multan Zaheerud din Alizai PP-214, Mazhar Abbas Raan, Zain Qureshi and Akhtar Labar were also present on this occasion.

He said that Pakistan was an example in the whole Asia for its civil service and strong institutions but is now lagging behind in the list of developing countries due to these corrupt people.

Khan said that PML-N and PPP have only looted the country and inflicted cruelty and injustice on the people of Pakistan. “Societies that become immune to the cruelty and injustice never make progress,” he added.

He said the even enemies are not treated the way PML-N and PPP have treated Pakistani people. Khan said that PTI will ensure establishment of South Punjab Province.