LAHORE: A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) appointed Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi as interim Punjab Chief Minister, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan announced a country-wide protest against the appointment from Tuesday (today).
“We would not accept a ‘corrupt’ person as an interim chief minister. We would hold a series of protests in all the cities of Pakistan; the first protest would be held in Lahore on Tuesday (today), followed by in Multan on Wednesday, Faisalabad on Thursday and then on every day in other cities,” he said while addressing a press conference through video link here on Monday.
The former Prime Minister also revealed that the PTI would also approach the superior courts against the appointment, as well as, the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governors for not announcing a date for elections in their respective provinces.
Declaring Naqvi as an enemy of the PTI, he alleged that he (Naqvi) was very close to former President Asif Ali Zardari, and Zardari called him his son. He claimed that Naqvi was a part of a team involved in the ‘regime change operation’, and its mastermind was former Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa (retired).
Mohsin Raza Naqvi takes oath as caretaker CM for Punjab
He further alleged that Naqvi was actively conspiring against the PTI government and was meeting various stakeholders and political parties to make the ‘operation’ successful. “Moreover, Naqvi had made a plea bargain with NAB and returned millions of rupees, proving that he was corrupt. Hence, he does not qualify for the top position in Punjab; how could a person with a chequered history be appointed as an interim chief minister,” he questioned. He claimed that the ECP deliberately chose Naqvi to target his party.
He alleged: “the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) was a biased and partial man, as he always passed verdicts against the PTI”. The CEC has been exposed before the nation after the appointment of Naqvi, he added. Khan maintained that the foundation of democracy was morality, adding that several rulers in the West had resigned when they happened to commit any tiny mistakes, showing their high standard of morality.
He explained that the purpose of the interim setup in the country was to conduct free and fair elections. “For this cause, neutral individuals were appointed; my party gave four names with impeccable reputations and we thought that it would be acceptable to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government. In KP, JUI-F had proposed the name of Azam Khan and the PTI had accepted it at once, as Azam Khan was a very respectable person in KP,” he added.
“In Punjab, the opposition had proposed those persons who were their loyal men; they were not neutral and impartial at all. Hence, it was no use in holding elections in such an environment where biased and partial persons were appointed to such important positions,” he said. He recalled that whenever injustice had been done in the past, the country suffered the worst, causing even the break up of the homeland. “Just sidelining a popular leader (referring to himself), the present ‘imported’ rulers were destroying the country to satisfy their ego. The PTI was trying to steer the country out of the economic crisis,” he added.
He urged the people to come out against this injustice and register their protest, peacefully.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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