Assemblies dissolved over ‘election push hints’

PTI chief reveals everyone, including govt leadership and former army chief, gave suggestions

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has explained the reasons behind dissolving the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, saying that he dissolved them after everyone, including the government leadership and former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, hinted at this being the only way to push for elections.

In an interview with a private news channel, the former prime minister took the ruling coalition to task over what he said were delaying tactics (in holding elections).

He also explained that every top political leader in the ruling coalition was of the view that if the PTI wanted early elections, it should dissolve its governments.

He disclosed that in a meeting he held with the former army chief alongside President Arif Alvi, Gen Bajwa also suggested the same.

During the interview, he said that he learned from a Middle Eastern leader that the then army chief had turned against him, adding that he had begun lobbying in the United States against his party.

“He had begun lobbying with the US long ago and wanted the Americans to endorse his extension. For that purpose, Gen Bajwa also wanted good relations with India and did not care about Kashmiris,” he claimed.

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Last week, the SC had asked all political parties to evolve a consensus on the date for holding simultaneous general elections of the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies expeditiously; otherwise, the court had noted, its order regarding the Punjab Assembly elections on May 14 would come into force.

The bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar was hearing a constitution petition filed by a citizen, requesting to hold the elections for the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies on the same day.

During the interview, Imran added that he has given PTI Central Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi the mandate to hold talks with the PDM.

“If they give an SC-endorsed proposal on joint and immediate polls — by dissolving their governments in May — only then we can talk. But if they are leaving it open-ended, then it is nothing but a trap,” he maintained.

The deposed prime minister added that the biggest condition is for current caretaker setups to be removed. “These setups have become unconstitutional now and we want genuine caretaker governments to be brought,” Imran added.

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Imran added that as per his “readings”, the former army chief had no ideology as he “saved” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif despite knowing about his corruption.

“They had even more information than that available to the public … but he was ready to give these people an NRO. How can you give an NRO to these thieves if you have a sense of morality or ideology,” he added.

The former prime minister termed Gen Bajwa a “liar”, adding that when he asked him whether he wanted to bring Shehbaz to power, he termed the Sharifs his “biggest enemy”.

When asked about the offers of extension to the former army chief, the former premier said that the first time when he learned about a plan, he told Gen Bajwa that he could give him an extension too if that is what he was promised from the other side and asked him not to topple the government.

Imran said that Gen Bajwa told him that the first extension had been a mistake, revealing that the government was pressured into giving him an extension.

He also disclosed that the second offer was made when he pushed for elections in the aftermath of the floods, but the then army chief cited the floods as a reason for not going ahead with it.

He said that he learned that Shehbaz had offered him an extension, but it was Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif who backtracked from this.