Ouster from parliament: Imran unfazed by party lawmakers’ unseating

Writes letter to election commissioner, seeking action against negligent officers

LAHORE: Unmoved by the looming threat of seeing his party ousted from the National Assembly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said the PTI will contest the elections again and win its way back into the legislative house if its lawmakers are unseated.

Speaking in Lahore on Thursday after holding meetings with his party’s district organisers, Imran said the PTI did not need anyone’s support to stay in parliament as it had won the seats after taking part in the elections. “If the resignations are accepted, the party will contest elections and return to parliament,” he said.



Negotiations are under way among the major political groups for an out-of-parliament solution to a ‘potential political crisis’ if the two motions seeking unseating of PTI lawmakers are accepted. The pleas were moved by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl.

The PTI chairman also reiterated his earlier stance regarding the findings of the judicial commission on rigging, saying the party accepted the report, which was a “historic step in amending the electoral process”.

Expressing disappointment over the commission having left the investigation “incomplete”, he said the party had stood by its earlier commitment of accepting the report.

However, Imran has written a letter to the Election Commissioner of Pakistan, Sardar Muhammad Raza, requesting an explanation on how the election commission planned to address its shortcomings pointed out in the panel’s report.

The letter also calls for initiating criminal prosecution against officials involved in breaching duties during the 2013 elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2015.