Fawad claims consensus exists in PTI over dissolution of KP, Punjab assemblies

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhary has said that there was a complete consensus in the party to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in this month.

He expressed these views while talking to the media on Thursday; he was joined by PTI Central Punjab General Secretary Hamad Azhar and Punjab government’s spokesperson Mussarat Jamshed Cheema.

Fawad said detailed deliberations were given on the dissolution of provincial assemblies and all the parliamentarians and party leaders agreed that they should immediately dissolve the assemblies and prepare for the fresh elections.

To a question, Chaudhary said Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi did suggest to the PTI Chairman to delay the dissolution of assemblies, but, keeping in mind the interest of the country and avoiding a default, the PTI had decided to go for early elections. “However, the Chief Minister had repeatedly assured that he would abide by whatever decision the PTI Chairman took on the fate of provincial assembly,” he added.

He averred the PML-Q was the main ally of the PTI in Punjab besides an independent political party. “It was prerogative of the PML-Q leadership to contest upcoming elections with or without us,” he added.

Criticising the role of state institutions, Chaudhary said unfortunately no change was seen in their policy, including that of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“The role of the institutions since the regime change operation has not become apolitical. The ECP was continuously hearing the cases against the PTI while a free hand was given to the plunderers (referring to the leaders of the coalition government) who had given themselves another NRO. The people of Pakistan expect transparent decisions from the courts,” he added.

He also said that the PTI was the only political party and Imran Khan was the only leader who was playing a role of a bridge between the state institutions and the public. “We want to make Pakistan a prosperous and democratic state in which all state institutions will work under the will of the people otherwise there is no future for the country,” he maintained.

He highlighted that the country was facing a serious economic crisis, but the incumbent rulers were busy in saving their corruption by amending the accountability law. There was a great distrust among the masses over the imposition of the imported rulers, he added. Shedding light on cases registered against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the former federal minster said that the party had filed petitions against the ECP, adding that the courts must decide cases against Azam Swati, Arshad Sharif, and Dr Shahbaz Gill independently.

Meanwhile, PTI Central Punjab General Secretary Hammad Azhar told the media that a delegation of the business community of Lahore met PTI Chairman Imran Khan and briefed him about their concerns on the uncertainty spreading in markets. “We were receiving reports of closure of businesses and industries and laying-off workers. The situation was worse than we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

According to the former federal minister, the businessmen also revealed that dollars were not easily available in the open market and thus they cannot import spare parts, raw materials and other products, as the banks were refusing to issue letters of credit (LCs) to them. This has created uneasiness in the business community, as they see no betterment in the coming days.

He feared that in the coming days the economy would further deteriorate and the country would see unprecedented price hikes due to a shortage of various products and raw materials, as the importers were facing difficulties in importing them.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022