Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Fawad Chaudhry on Monday claimed that things had changed since Gen Asim Munir took over the command of Pakistan Army, saying that they were no longer “getting telephone calls from unknown numbers”.
Talking to a private news channel, the former information minister said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan was not blocked on the media but there were some negative things. He added that previously, the establishment was the only force to reckon with but now “Imran Khan is also a reality”.
He stressed that the PTI wanted to get along with the establishment. He explained that during the PTI’s tenure, then army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were told three times that Imran would de-notify them.
“But he [Imran] didn’t even think of that. There were recordings all the time, which was also a big problem. Whatever one said in proverbial sense, it seemed like a conspiracy was taking place,” Fawad told reporters.
Media talk by @fawadchaudhry regarding worrying conditions of our economy: #امپورٹڈ_سرکار_تباہی_سرکار pic.twitter.com/tEFvatzlkw
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 26, 2022
When asked what if Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi got angry over his remarks against Gen (retd) Qamar, Fawad replied: “Now Imran Khan will not take guidelines from Elahi.”
To another question, he said that there was no progress in the meetings between President Arif Alvi and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. “Their strategy is to get Imran disqualified and lodge criminal cases against him. Then elections should be postponed for one year.”
Meanwhile, talking to media persons after a meeting of the senior party leaders, chaired by Imran, Fawad said that the PTI would issue a white paper on the country’s economic situation, adding that the PTI chairman had summoned a meeting of the economic experts on the matter.
The PTI had formed working groups for basic reforms, which would prepare proposals for the country’s economy and governance, he said. “The PTI believes that after getting rid of the current rulers, the country will still not be able to get out of the quagmire without major reforms.”
He added that they were also working on a white paper on women's rights.
Fawad said that CM Elahi would take the vote of confidence from the provincial assembly well before January 11 – the date of the hearing of the chief minister’s petition against Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman’s order for his de-notification.
PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi and other party leaders were very clear about the strategy for the Punjab Assembly’s dissolution.
Read Alvi says statement about Bajwa's 'support' to PTI 'wrongly attributed'
“We have decided on the date for Punjab’s parliamentary party meeting, which will be revealed in due course of time. All of our 187 MPAs will attend the meeting,” he added.
He claimed that some of the PML-N legislators were interested in seat adjustments with the PTI and they were considering them on the seats, where the PTI did not have a candidate.
He was confident that the elections would be held in April and the country was moving towards general elections.
Earlier, chairing the meeting of senior party leaders, Imran Khan expressed serious concern on the rapidly increasing terrorism incidents across the country, especially in the areas adjacent to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The PTI chairman stressed that corrupt, dishonest and incompetent rulers were responsible for the economic chaos in the country and now they have miserably failed to protect the lives and properties of the people.
“Eight months ago, the country was economically stable while terrorism was practically over,” Imran told the meeting. But now, he added, after the economic crisis, there had been an extraordinary increase in the incidents of terrorism.
The meeting discussed at length the important issues, like the overall political situation in the country, deteriorating economic conditions and rising terrorism. The PTI leaders also discussed the strategy for the resignations of the party’s lawmakers from the National Assembly.
Imran said that the “corrupt and dishonest people” had been given the power to play with the economy and national security and “award themselves NRO-2” – a reference to the political amnesty granted by former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf through the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2007.
“In recent days, the country has seen a 52% increase in terror incidents in which 270 people have died and more than 550 were injured. I had warned of the consequences before my government was changed through a conspiracy,” Imran said.
پنجاب کی سینئیر لیڈرشپ کی پنجاب اسمبلی کی تحلیل کے حوالے سے لائحہ عمل پر چئیرمین تحریک انصاف عمران خان کو بریفنگ
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 26, 2022
چئیرمین تحریک انصاف نے الیکشن کی تیاریوں کا بھی جائزہ لیا۔
ملک میں جاری سیاسی و معاشی بحران کا واحد حل انتخابات ہیں - چئیرمین تحریک انصاف pic.twitter.com/moMqfqY6TZ
“Since the last eight months, we have continuously warned that the imposed, corrupt and incompetent rulers were pushing the nation towards disaster,” Imran said, adding that the independent economic experts were suggesting that Pakistan was facing a very serious situation.
“After ruining the economy, this imported government also failed in providing security, which is very worrying,” he continued. He recalled that after the withdrawal of the US from the region, “our [PTI] government shielded the nation from its fallout with the best diplomatic strategy”.
He was of a strong view that leaving the national security at the mercy of people like “Asif Zardari's politically immature son [Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari] was a criminal negligence”. However, he assured that the PTI was monitoring the situation and it would resist any attempt to lead the nation to a major disaster.
The PTI chief reiterated his demand for early polls, which in his opinion was the only way to save the country from destruction. “Only a government with a public mandate in the true sense will be able to manage the economy and control terrorism,” he stressed.
On the strategy for the resignations from the National Assembly, the meeting condemned the National Assembly speaker for going on a foreign tour, knowing that the PTI lawmakers were coming to meet him for confirmation of their resignations.
They saw the role of the speaker as an insult to parliament.
Former finance minister and the head of the PTI’s economic team, Shaukat Tarin, briefed the participants about the impact of the increase in the prices of food items, especially flour, on the common man. The meeting also showed concern over the US and the EU’s travel advisories for their citizens.
Read More PM confident about steering country out of economic crisis
Meanwhile, as per the sources, Imran was briefed by his legal team on the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly in light of the Lahore High Court verdict. He was told that the Punjab Assembly could not be dissolved before January 11, as the matter had been linked to a court ruling.
The experts informed the PTI chief that the legal status of a no-confidence motion also ended after Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan’s ruling. They were of the opinion that Governor Rehman had to ask CM Elahi again to take a vote of confidence from the house.
Earlier, during a meeting with the former inspectors general of Punjab police, the PTI chairman stressed that “the rule of law was a prerequisite to boost economic activities and investment in the country”. The former IGs shared their views about reforms in the police and criminal justice system.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ