In an emphatic rejoinder to his critics, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan said on Monday that government negotiators had initially agreed to his proposal to give military intelligence agencies a role in a proposed investigation into the allegations of rigging in the 2013 elections.
The statement came a day after Imran backtracked on his longstanding demand for the prime minister to resign to ensure a fair probe into the rigging allegations. Instead he called for a role for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) on a proposed Supreme Court-led inquiry commission.
Speaking at his Islamabad sit-in on Monday, Imran justified his proposal, saying the government negotiators had agreed to the role of ISI and MI in investigation during negotiations with PTI officials.
“For that, the government negotiators wanted the PTI to drop its demand for the resignation of the prime minister until the inquiry was completed,” he said. “The proposed investigation was to be completed in 4-6 weeks and if allegations were proven, fresh elections would have to be called.”
While explaining his demand for ISI and MI role in rigging probe, Imran said that the Supreme Court should constitute a commission which could seek help from all institutions, including intelligence agencies, under Article 190 of the Constitution. “The PML-N has now reneged on its earlier commitment,” he added.
The PTI chief warned the government to take a decision on his proposal before November 30, or else it would be forced to make a decision. “You have until November 30 to take a decision, otherwise our decision would be difficult for you to swallow,” he said addressing the government.
Reiterating his stance, Imran said that free and transparent elections were a must for a bright future of the country otherwise the corrupt ruling elite would continue to rig elections and rule the country.
About the resignation of PTI lawmakers from the National Assembly, Imran said a drama was going as we are being told that our resignations have not been accepted but we say ‘your assembly is fake’.”
About those PTI MPs who did not resign or withdrew their resignations, Imran said that “I would thank Nawaz Sharif for identifying [through bribe] those who do not have an ideology and had mistakenly been members of our party.”
Nawaz Sharif, throughout his life, has bribed people and had even sent a “BMW to army chief General Asif Nawaz Janjua which he refused to accept,” Imran alleged.
The PTI chairman said that his party’s dharna would complete three months on Tuesday [today] but at the same time he acknowledged that “perhaps my own team would have opposed me if they knew that the sit-in could prolong this long.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2014.
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