Imran rules out alliance with parties represented in current parliament

Khan says party is willing to form coalition with partners who are not in incumbent legislatures.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan said on Sunday that his party would not forge political alliances with parties currently represented in either parliament or provincial assemblies.

Talking to the media, Imran did indicate that the option of allying the PTI with parties not represented in legislatures was still open. “We could hold talks with those parties which were not in the incumbent parliament,” the PTI chief said.

Referring to the re-emergence of the Kalabagh Dam controversy, Imran said that while the PTI supports more water reservoirs in order to help resolve the energy crisis, a consensus is required to build the disputed dam.

“If Kalabagh Dam is constructed without evolving a consensus, I fear it might trigger unrest in the country,” he said, adding that the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have already expressed their reservations.

The PTI leader also said that his party supports delimitation of constituencies in Karachi and the apex court’s decision in this regard was welcome. “Voter lists across the country should be error-free, including Karachi,” Imran stated.



The PTI leader also alleged the ruling political parties had formed their own militant wings in Karachi. “We cannot create peace in Karachi until these militant wings are smashed,” he emphasised. Imran said the choice for the people of Karachi was deciding whether they wanted peace and security or whether they were happy to remain hostage to “political militants”.

Intra-party Elections

Imran termed the intra-party elections of his party the “first step” towards the introduction of a true democratic order in the country by eliminating politics of family and autocracy in political parties. “Holding party elections is the most difficult decision of my 16-year-old political career,” the PTI chief said.

Following the intra-party election in Islamabad, Imran said the election process would be completed by the end of January 2013. “Party workers are to be congratulated on this big achievement as they have laid down the foundation for a true political culture in the country,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2012.