PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi. PHOTO: PTI/FILE
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has demanded the government and Election Commission of Pakistan conduct local bodies (LG) elections in March next year.
Addressing a gathering in his hometown of Multan, Qureshi said that next year will be the appropriate time to hold LG elections as the country is currently facing serious terrorist threats.
“Circumstances have changed after the death of [TTP} Hakimullah Mehsud,” he said, adding that a peaceful atmosphere was required holding for free, fair and transparent elections which the government has failed to provide.
The PTI leader lamented that the government was not taking political parties into confidence on important policy decisions. “The government should take all political parties into confidence on the talks it had with the Taliban and the United States.”
He claimed that the government was not serious about negotiating with the Taliban. “All they are doing is releasing media statements,” he said. “The PTI demands immediate practical steps.”
“The Taliban are not concerned with news conferences by government officials. They are demanding practical and viable steps through negotiations,” said Qureshi.
He said if the government failed to make any decision about stopping Nato supplies before November 20, then the PTI would announce its plan of action. “We have already taken all political parties and stakeholders in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa into confidence on the matter,” he added.
Qureshi also said that the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project was very important for meeting the country’s energy needs. The project had been cleared by the previous government, but now this government is dilly-dallying and not sharing any details, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2013.
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