Imran slams ECP, govt for not holding LG polls

PTI chief says electoral watchdog proves it is a ‘B-team of imported govt’

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has strongly criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal government for not holding the local government elections in the federal capital on Saturday (Dec 31) despite clear orders from the Islamabad High Court.

Imran tweeted that by not implementing the IHC orders of holding LG elections in Islamabad, the ECP had again shown that it was the “B-team” of the imported government and its backers.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), fearful of the people, was running away from all elections. Right to vote was a fundamental democratic norm and the PTI was standing firm to it, he added.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media on Saturday, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said the incumbent rulers, in connivance with the ECP, were making a mockery of the Constitution of Pakistan and the fundamental democratic right of the public to vote by defying elections.

He termed the federal government’s decision not to hold LG elections in Islamabad city an open attack on the judicial system of the country.

“Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and ECP Chairman Sikandar Sultan Raja have jointly attacked the court of law by defying its decision. The ECP has become a subsidiary of the federal government. The commission’s chief has reduced his value to merely a clerk.”

Fawad said, “The PTI has already filed a reference against the ECP in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the party has decided to file another reference to stop the ECP from acting on the behest of the imported rulers.

The party will ask the court to review the performance of the commission.”
To a media query, Fawad said the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) assemblies was final. It was delayed because the government had submitted a no-confidence motion in the house.

However, both assemblies would be dissolved as it was clearly clarified by the court of law in Javed Hashmi’s case that it was the right of the majority party though there were different rules for the PTI and other parties, he said, adding that it would not affect the PTI’s popularity.

“We contested two elections under the same election commission. Despite rigging, the commission could not make a dent in the party's performance.”
Fawad disclosed that his party would register a case against Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Nasir Ali Shah and Sharjeel Memon for offering bribe and indulging in horse trading in Punjab.

The party would also file a reference against them with the ECP for their disqualification he said, adding that they would be booked for indulging in corrupt practices.

He highlighted that PTI Chairman Imran had fulfilled legal obligations and had disqualified his party’s MPA Khawaja Masood who dodged voting for Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. The case was being sent to the ECP for his disqualification.

On the recent meeting of the National Security Committee, the PTI leader said the seriousness of the meeting could be judged by the fact that the chief minister of the most-effected province, the K-P, was not invited to the meeting.

The government had no other priority but to constitute the biggest-ever cabinet and its foreign visits as well as saving its corruption, he said, adding that the imported government had ruined the country’s economy. “The year 2022 has proven disastrous for the economy as the cost of living soared owing to political instability in the country,” he underscored.

He announced that his party would bring out a whitepaper on the country’s economy on Tuesday, while another whitepaper would be published on human rights as well as the law and order situation of the country on Thursday.