Imran wants caretakers replaced by administrators

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan waded through the debate on the legality of caretaker governments in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), proposing the appointment of “administrators” with sole purpose of holding elections.

Talking informally to journalists at the Lahore High Court (LHC), Imran said that the caretaker governments came to conduct elections, but the current set-ups were doing everything except election.

“This caretaker government has come with some other agenda. The caretaker government is doing everything, except holding the elections,” he said. He demanded removal of these interim set-ups and appointment of administrators in their place.

“After 90 days, the caretaker governments will have no constitutional status. Anything done after 90 days will be unconstitutional. They should be removed and replaced by an administrator whose only responsibility would be elections,” he said.

Caretaker governments came in Punjab and K-P after the provincial assemblies in the two provinces were dissolved. This week, both the set-ups are reaching the defined constitutional limit of 90 days.

Since, elections are not taking place in 90 days, a constitutional and political debate has started among the legal minds in the country about the status of the set-ups following expiry of their 90-days term.

Imran said that caretakers had something else on their agenda. He accused the Punjab caretaker government of political victimisation of his party, which no elected government had ever done. “This is part of the London Plan [and] promises are made to Nawaz Sharif.”

Speaking about the Supreme Court’s order to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for giving Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the elections in Punjab, he said if the SBP did not give the money, it meant that the rule of Constitution had ended.

Responding to another question, the PTI chairman said that former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa campaigned for damaging “our government's relationship with the United States and Saudi Arabia” because he wanted extension of his service.

“We had good relations with China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and [former US president Donald] Trump along with [then British prime minister] Boris Johnson,” Imran said. “It was gen [retd] Bajwa who campaigned against us because he wanted extension.

When asked about the talks suggested by Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq, Imran said that “the Constitution does not require negotiations, yet we are negotiating”, adding, all legal experts agreed that elections must be held within 90 days.

Also read: Low turnout of Peshawar workers at Zaman Park irks Imran

Separately, senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said in a statement that if the government wanted to discuss the general election, it should do so, but the provincial elections should be held as per schedule.

He urged Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to desist from taking drastic actions. Chaudhry emphasised that elections must be held, warning that “failing to do so will be a violation of the people’s rights”.

Meanwhile, Chaudhry, in a tweet, demanded that the Supreme Court should initiate contempt proceedings against the federal cabinet, including Prime Minister Shehbaz for not releasing funds to the ECP for the provincial polls.

He termed the SBP’s decision not to release funds for election a violation of the laws."...the Supreme Court should initiate contempt of court proceedings against the prime minister and the Cabinet and fulfil their desire of getting disqualified through court orders," the former information minister said.

"No parliament has the authority to prevent people from voting. Such a parliament can lay the foundation of a fascist government, but it cannot have anything to do with a democratic system," he said.

Chaudhry said that the parliament did not have any prerogative over the election expenses. He also mentioned in his tweets that his party was focused on negotiations with the government, but the rulers were exhibiting a "non-serious" attitude.