Imran calls for giving authority to govt

LAHORE:

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said that it is not possible to eliminate the political role of the army from the country overnight, stressing that it cannot go like this that the democratic government is held responsible while the army has the authority.

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, Imran said that the revival of some factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is possible, while the option of using force against others can be used, but this should be the last resort. “The government has to see which TTP groups can give up violence and which can be rehabilitated.”

To a question about the relationship between Pakistan and the United States, the former prime minister said that the disagreement with the policy based on the support of the US in the war against terrorism “did not mean that I am against the United States”. “Pakistan should have good relations with all countries.”

While discussing the country's economy, Imran said that the only way to achieve economic stability was to conduct clean, transparent and fair elections in the country.

“Political stability is indispensable before economic stability … the only solution of which is to hold elections as soon as possible. After that, tough decisions must be taken for full rule of law in the country.”

Imran said that the interest of investors arose from good governance and its source was nothing but the rule of law while at present, there was no law to arrest the powerful in the country and this was the situation of foreign investment in the country. “It is the biggest obstacle to come.”

To restore the country's economy, he said, investment must be brought. “I never accused the West of trying to kill me.”

He said that at this time Pakistan had no other option but to go to the IMF, otherwise the country might default, which would result in huge losses for Pakistan. He said that the incumbent government did not have enough capacity.

To another question regarding the intervention of army in politics, Imran said that if the responsibility lied with the democratic government, the authority should also be with it. “No system can function in this way, where the responsibility rests with the democratic government and the authority with the army.”

He said that his position regarding the army had not changed much.

Read more: No 'relationship' with new military leadership yet: Imran

Imran said since the creation of Pakistan, most of the periods had been under direct military rule, while the rest of the periods had been ruled by the Bhutto and Sharif families.

He said due to the political history of Pakistan, the political role of the army could not be eliminated overnight. “But it can be started that if the responsibility of something belongs to the civilian government, the authority should also rest with it.”

Meanwhile, speaking at a lawyers' event in Lahore, Imran said that Pakistan was stuck in a quagmire that only the lawyers could take it out from.

“The country is currently suffering from a crisis and there has never been such a big crisis in the country's history. There is no way to fix it.”

He said that no one was ready to give money to the incumbent government while Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was not seen in the country. Today, the “world is saying that a crisis like in Sri Lanka is going to happen in Pakistan”. “Today, we do not have money to open LCs. Fear is that there will be no money to buy oil like in Sri Lanka.”

He said that there is no option but to go to the IMF. “The IMF will give money only when we accept their conditions and if we accept them, inflation will increase by 50%.”