‘Unholy troika close to cutting underhand deal’

Imran says PML-N’s ‘friendly opposition’ and JUI-F support is destroying the country.

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman has alleged that the ruling party, with its “friendly opposition” is entering into “sneaky deals” to get the 20th amendment through.

Imran Khan then challenged what he called the “unholy troika” – comprising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) – to come forth and contest elections against his party, claiming they will be served with defeat.

While addressing a press conference on Tuesday at the PTI’s Central Secretariat in Islamabad, he said: “These conventional parties are destroying Pakistan, both politically and economically”.

Accusing the government of corruption and failing to deliver, Khan said that PML-N’s “friendly opposition” has aided the rulers in their “nefarious designs.”

“Underhand deals are being made to get the 20th amendment through.

“The political future is compromised because of politicians’ self-interest and fatal alliances with external powers,” he added.

He lashed out at the JUI-F chief, calling him an “adviser” and “right-hand man” of President Asif Ali Zardari. “He [Maulana Fazlur Rehman] runs his political camp on the pretext of religion,” said Khan.

“Both Nawaz Sharif and the JUI-F chief are supporting Zardari’s regime so they are responsible for the situation our country is facing. Rehman used Islam to develop his political career.”

The PTI chief alleged that the NRO-backed government had caused losses amounting to Rs120 trillion to the country owing to corruption and bad governance during last four years. “Corruption, tax evasion, concessions to powerful lobbies, exorbitant and wasteful expenditures, and poor performance of public enterprises has cost the national exchequer Rs3,100 billion in losses.”

Quetta rally now on April 13

Meanwhile, PTI Central Information Secretary Shafqat Mehmood announced that the party’s flagship rally slated for March 23 to be held in Quetta has been postponed till April 13 due to some “unavoidable logistical problems”.

Mehmood, while talking to reporters, said that the chairman of the party was personally looking into all the arrangements and on April 13, the PTI would stage “a mighty show” in the provincial capital of Balochistan.

“No we have certainly not lost the momentum as the party is consistently holding rallies in various towns of Pakistan,” he said.

“Our next stop is Swabi in a couple of weeks and like all other rallies it will be a solid show,” said Mehmood.

The PTI leader said that his party feared that both PPP and PML-N would once again strike a deal on the appointments of caretakers and the constitution of the election commission before the next general election.

“PPP and PML-N are talking and we are not consulted on the future caretaker set-up so it amounts to foul-play. And if we suspected some underhand dealing we’ll knock at the doors of the judiciary,” he warned.

“All the political parties outside parliament should be consulted before the next general elections,” stated Mehmood.

(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MOHAMMED RIZWAN FROM LAHORE)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2012.