PTI raises spectre of ‘FATF grey listing’ over govt crackdown

LAHORE:

 

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given an irrational response to President Dr Arif Alvi’s letter which drew his attention towards the constitutional provisions.

On Friday, Alvi wrote a letter to Shehbaz, asking him to direct the authorities concerned to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan with the holding of elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

In the letter, the president mentioned the holding of elections in the two provinces as per the timeframe, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order dated March 1, 2023 was essential to avoid further complications, including contempt of court.

Alvi’s letter came in response to the ECP’s decision of postponing the Punjab Assembly elections till Oct 8. The ECP had cited security threats and lack of funds behind delaying the elections.

Addressing a news conference along with PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, Azam Swati and others at the Lahore Press Club on Sunday, Fawad stressed that there was no other way to bring political stability in the country except by implementing the provisions laid out in the Constitution. He said, “The prime minister did not respond logically even to a single question raised by the president in his letter. It seems that some Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson wrote the prime minister’s response.”

He said, “What is happening in Pakistan today was not possible even in the worst monarchies. It seems that the ‘Nazi’ government has been imposed in Pakistan. We have left behind atrocities faced by the people of Burma and North Korea.”

He underscored that all eyes were now on the Supreme Court (SC), adding that owing to gross violations of human rights and restrictions on freedom of expression, there was qualmishness in the international community about the state of human rights in Pakistan.

He claimed that over 2,000 leaders and workers of his party had been arrested ahead of the PTI’s Minar-i-Pakistan public rally on Saturday.

“People are being picked and rendered missing from Lahore. Azhar Mashwani went missing. It has been three days,” he highlighted.

He said the caretaker Punjab government had blocked all roads leading to Minar-i-Pakistan on the pre-text of security. All entry and exit points of the city were closed down by placing containers on roads, however, a large number of people showed up at the rally by crossing all obstacles and announced their verdict against these “imported rulers”.

Fawad warned that all these human rights violations were pushing the country towards international sanctions.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government’s actions against the people of Pakistan would place Pakistan back on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

He asserted that there was no room for enforced disappearances in Pakistan otherwise the country could face devastating economic consequence in the shape of sanctions.

He accused for Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah of operating a “gang”, questioning him about his politics.

He said the government was doing politics based on fear. “We are asking you to do your own politics and let us do ours too.”

Addressing the news conference, Umar said the way Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had responded to the president’s letter was enough to show that how lowly a man he was.

Criticising the government, he pointed out that so far six persons had lost their lives in the pursuit of obtaining subsidised wheat flour.

“The incumbent government will drag down the country on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list again,” he warned.

He warned that there would be no democracy in Pakistan if the country was run the way it was being run. The coming week would be decisive in the history of Pakistan as everyone was looking towards the top court.

“The country has no longer a judiciary of the 1950s and everyone will see the judiciary defending the Constitution and the country,” he maintained.