Opp seeks electoral reforms before fresh polls

ISLAMABAD:

The joint opposition on Monday called for introducing electoral reforms before holding fresh polls in the country to “close the doors of rigging” and urged the Supreme Court to declare National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling to dismiss the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan illegal.

Addressing a news conference in the federal capital, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman noted that the country was going through a “constitutional crisis”.

“The deputy speaker gave an illegal ruling on the direction of the premier. President [Arif Alvi] also did not pay heed to anything and dissolved the [National] assembly,” he said.

“Our last and inevitable demand and request to the [Supreme] court is to declare deputy speaker’s ruling illegal.”

Suri, on Sunday, dismissed the no-confidence motion submitted against PM Imran, terming it a violation of Article 5 of the Constitution. Later, President Arif Alvi dissolved the NA on the advice of the premier.

Fazl alleged that the 2018 government of the PTI came to power through rigging and called for introducing electoral reforms before the fresh polls, saying the party was again trying to get elected through “illegal means”.

While referring to the “threat letter against the PTI government”, he said the National Assembly was dissolved on the basis of a speculation, adding that “we will not allow this foul play to continue anymore”.

“Once again you (PM Imran) are trying to hide behind the letter.”
He said the members of the National Assembly should be given the right to vote and elect a new premier.

READ PM urges opposition to accept snap polls offer instead of supporting ‘foreign plot’

Fazl said the security agencies should clarify their position on the “threat letter”, adding that their statement of being “neutral” was not enough.

In a statement, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari also said that that PM Imran was trying to “lurk” behind the letter.

He said the National Security Committee (NSC) members had mentioned that they found no evidence of foreign conspiracy in the document.

Commenting on PM Imran’s statement, Zardari said the security agencies officials should clarify their position that they were “satisfied with him on the issue of letter”.

“Now this issue (pertaining to threat letter) is no more related to [PM] Imran Khan or the joint opposition but it has become a national issue.”

Speaking to media, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that “Imran had attacked the constitution of the country” by dissolving the National Assembly and sought the application of Article 6 against him.

She said people were “crushed by inflation” during the three-and-half-year rule of the PTI and that the party had “compromised” on the Kashmir policy.

She maintained that the dissident members of the PTI left PM Imran because of his “poor policies” saying, “they knew that [PM] Imran had lost majority and people were not with him [anymore]”.

Deliberating on the “threat letter”, Marriyum quoted PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry as saying that the “NSC [meeting] had endorsed the letter”.

“[I] demand to make [minutes of] this meeting public,” she said.