No question of mid-term elections: Sarwar

LAHORE: Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on Thursday said that mid-term elections were out of question and the opposition lived in a fool’s paradise if it thought it could derail the government through protests, sit-ins and long march.

Addressing a ceremony in connection with the National Disaster Day at the Governor’s House here, he said the next general elections would be held in 2023, adding that doors of dialogue were always open in politics and democracy and government was open to dialogue with the opposition on national issues.

The Governor Punjab said the opposition leaders were free to hold private meetings and press conferences to exercise their democratic right, adding that nobody would be allowed to take law into hand.

To a question, he said the government had already clarified that it had nothing to do with the treason case against the PML-N leadership, adding that he was personally opposed to the idea of calling somebody a traitor.

“Setting aside the political differences, the PTI government has not issued a treason certificate to anybody as it is against the political vision of the party,” he added.

To another question, he said JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman had already undertaken a long-march against the government and the government did not arrest him and neither would do so now, adding that protest was democratic right of the opposition.

He urged the opposition to play its positive role in the development of the country and give up the path of politics of agitation.

In his address on the National Disaster Day 2020, he said the history stood witness to the fact that Pakistani people stood shoulder to shoulder with the victims whenever some calamity had hit the country, adding that national institutions had always worked in unison in the face of national calamities or some tragedies.

The Governor Punjab said Pakistan was the only country in the world where the philanthropists were in the vanguard whenever the nation was faced with some catastrophe. He said the people donated more than 5000 million rupees to help the needy during the coronavirus pandemic in the country.