Fawad calls on institutions to respect political leadership

PTI leader dismisses credibility of decisions made ‘behind closed doors’

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said that institutions are vital for running the affairs of the country, but “they should also respect the political leadership”.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, the former information minister emphasised the need for cordial ties with the institutions, saying that PTI wanted to be on the “same page” with them. However, he added, “unelected institutions” do not represent the people, therefore, maintaining institutional balance was the need of the hour.

He stressed that decisions should be made by the masses, and those taken “behind closed doors” do not have any importance.

Speaking about the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference, the PTI leader pointed out that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had not been indicted in the case. “When we speak about this [delay], it is regarded as contempt,” he remarked.

He said that the premier was going to be indicted in the money laundering case on the day of his oath-taking ceremony, but “unfortunately, it was put off”.

Commenting on the political affairs of his party, Fawad said that party chief Imran Khan held the “biggest rally” in the history of Gujranwala last night and the “entire country” came out to express solidarity with him in different cities.

“Millions of people turned up to listen to Imran Khan as his speech was shown on big screens in different cities,” he added.

On the postponement of by-elections, the PTI leader said that the rulers were running away from the polls. He alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) made the decision to postpone them “behind closed doors”.

Also read: Fawad denies reports of ‘behind-the-scenes contacts’ between Imran, Nawaz

“Election Commission has wasted billions of rupees of the nation,” he said.

“Irresponsible people have been imposed on us and there is an administrative crisis within the ECP as they declared four million voters dead.”

On the occasion, the former federal minister also reiterated his part’s allegations of their government being toppled through an alleged foreign conspiracy, which ultimately led to the devastation of the country’s economy.

He highlighted how inflation was on the rise, reaching 45 percent. He added that the “media is so helpless that they cannot talk about inflation”.

He further said that the PTI chief would hold another telethon to raise funds for flood victims, saying that Rs3 billion out of the pledged Rs5 billion had already been collected. He added that Rs1 billion would be spent on Sindh.