No more concessions: PTI refuse to budge on their demands
Imran warns of countrywide wheel-jam strike if demands not met.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan cautioned on Sunday that his flexibility had reached its limit and he would not budge an inch on his final demand that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quit his office for at least a month to ensure a fair judicial inquiry into charges of rigging in the May 2013 general elections.
At the same time, he threatened a countrywide wheel-jam strike if his party’s demands were not met. He also set another three-day deadline for the dawn of ‘Naya Pakistan’ which, according to him, was the main objective of the PTI’s Azadi march.
In their Saturday’s talks, the PTI negotiators proposed to their counterparts from the government side that the prime minister step aside for 30 days until a Supreme Court-led judicial commission completed investigations into the allegations of rigging in the 2013 parliamentary elections.
“This is our ultimate compromise and nobody should expect more than this from us as time has moved far ahead,” Imran told reporters in his shipping container at D-Chowk.
He claimed his party had showed maximum flexibility upon pressure from political forces, and had crafted a solution within the constitutional framework. “It is an uphill task to show more flexibility,” Imran said, adding that PTI workers would continue the sit-in come what may.
“We have given the middle way to the prime minister to resign for a certain period, which will neither derail the system nor send the assemblies packing,” he said.
The PTI chairman said he had changed his stance for the sake of democracy and continuation of the system. “We neither want to touch the government nor the assemblies, we just want the prime minister to leave and it is under the Constitution,” he said.
He cited examples of former prime ministers Zafaraullah Jamali and Yousaf Raza Gilani, who had to leave office under certain situations.
Imran is confident that he can force the government to bow down before his demands. “The masses are assembled in the capital’s streets and no one can control them without fulfilling the constitutional demands,” he said.
He claimed that the middle class and educated people were with him and wanted to change the system “People along with their families are coming to the dharna and show their confidence over the PTI,” he said.
Imran Khan said the government wanted to promote clashes now by staging counter rallies, “which will have serious consequences”.
He demanded that after the resignation of the prime minister, the neutral heads should be appointed for key institutions – including National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) – to pave way for a neutral investigation.
“There is zero possibility of having a fair investigation under Nawaz and the incumbent heads of these institutions,” he said.
Elections, according to the PTI chief, do not mean democracy. Only free and fair elections can bring a positive change and democracy in the country. “The system will never be corrected until people involved in the poll rigging are punished,” he said.
He again alleged that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had printed bogus ballot papers and distributed them in 98 constituencies of Punjab – which increased their votes from 7.8 million to 15 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2014.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan cautioned on Sunday that his flexibility had reached its limit and he would not budge an inch on his final demand that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quit his office for at least a month to ensure a fair judicial inquiry into charges of rigging in the May 2013 general elections.
At the same time, he threatened a countrywide wheel-jam strike if his party’s demands were not met. He also set another three-day deadline for the dawn of ‘Naya Pakistan’ which, according to him, was the main objective of the PTI’s Azadi march.
In their Saturday’s talks, the PTI negotiators proposed to their counterparts from the government side that the prime minister step aside for 30 days until a Supreme Court-led judicial commission completed investigations into the allegations of rigging in the 2013 parliamentary elections.
“This is our ultimate compromise and nobody should expect more than this from us as time has moved far ahead,” Imran told reporters in his shipping container at D-Chowk.
He claimed his party had showed maximum flexibility upon pressure from political forces, and had crafted a solution within the constitutional framework. “It is an uphill task to show more flexibility,” Imran said, adding that PTI workers would continue the sit-in come what may.
“We have given the middle way to the prime minister to resign for a certain period, which will neither derail the system nor send the assemblies packing,” he said.
The PTI chairman said he had changed his stance for the sake of democracy and continuation of the system. “We neither want to touch the government nor the assemblies, we just want the prime minister to leave and it is under the Constitution,” he said.
He cited examples of former prime ministers Zafaraullah Jamali and Yousaf Raza Gilani, who had to leave office under certain situations.
Imran is confident that he can force the government to bow down before his demands. “The masses are assembled in the capital’s streets and no one can control them without fulfilling the constitutional demands,” he said.
He claimed that the middle class and educated people were with him and wanted to change the system “People along with their families are coming to the dharna and show their confidence over the PTI,” he said.
Imran Khan said the government wanted to promote clashes now by staging counter rallies, “which will have serious consequences”.
He demanded that after the resignation of the prime minister, the neutral heads should be appointed for key institutions – including National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) – to pave way for a neutral investigation.
“There is zero possibility of having a fair investigation under Nawaz and the incumbent heads of these institutions,” he said.
Elections, according to the PTI chief, do not mean democracy. Only free and fair elections can bring a positive change and democracy in the country. “The system will never be corrected until people involved in the poll rigging are punished,” he said.
He again alleged that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had printed bogus ballot papers and distributed them in 98 constituencies of Punjab – which increased their votes from 7.8 million to 15 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2014.