Imran opposes army role in govt formation

PTI, JI to struggle for an end to military operations.

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Thursday shot down the possibility of his party endorsing the role of the military in the formation of the government.

Imran was speaking to the media after meeting the top leaders of the Jamaat e Islami (JI) in Mansoora. Both the PTI and JI have agreed to launch a joint struggle for an end to military operations and drone attacks in the country’s tribal belt, he said.

Imran also vowed that the two parties will uphold the supremacy of the constitution at all costs and back the Supreme Court to the hilt over the issue of holding free, fair and transparent elections under an independent Election Commission.

A four-member delegation of the PTI led by Imran Khan called on the JI Ameer Munawar Hassan at Jamaat’s headquarters. The leaders of both parties deliberated upon the political conditions in the country.

After the meeting, the PTI chief Imran Khan told media persons that the two parties had agreed to foil all conspiracies against the chief justice and the apex court.

Imran denounced the election of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf as prime minister and said the motive was to cloak the alleged corruption of President Asif Ali Zardari. He said the PTI would not enter into an electoral alliance with a party striving for status quo. JI is the only party that can be trusted as it stands by its principles.

The two leaders renewed calls for setting up an interim government comprising all stakeholders for ensuring free and transparent elections. They demanded the disclosure of the names of all those killed in the drone attacks and the military operations launched in the name of terrorism so that the people knew the facts, said a press statement later issued by JI.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2012.