ISLAMABAD: Senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday categorically said that any attempt by the powers that be to install a setup of technocrats in the country would be resisted tooth and nail.

Reacting to reports that a caretaker setup to steer the country out of the prevailing crisis for a period of two years is in the offing, he said that it is nothing but a joke as such a setup is no solution to the issues confronting the country.

Economist and former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue during the PTI government Shabbar Zaidi had recently claimed that talks were under way for installing a caretaker set up comprising experts who might replace the coalition government of Pakistan Democratic Movement, given the current economic crisis in the country.

Talking to journalists, Fawad Chaudhry plainly stated that the idea of sending the current government packing and installing a technocrats’ government for 2.5 years would be a blunder.

He demanded that “such experiments and jokes” with Pakistan must come to an end as “enough is enough”.

“You will import a technocrat from the US and have him sit here […] he will take a decision then there will be criticism and rallies against it…after which he will leave his shoes here and run away with his briefcase in his hand,” he lamented.

He reiterated that the best solution to steer the country out of the prevalent crises is nothing but hold general elections, arguing if the government falls, the Constitution had a solution — which is immediate election and only election.

He claimed that it was a straightforward matter as the constitution provided a clearly and precisely written political skeleton for Pakistan.

Chaudhry also said that the proposed idea of importing a technocrat from the US or somewhere was a result of the failure of Shehbaz Sharif’s regime.

“We will fully condemn the proposal of a technocratic setup. We will fully condemn going out of the constitution. Under any circumstances, a system beyond the constitution is simply not acceptable to us no matter what. Political parties should also focus on this,” he declared.

He further said that the current economic crisis was the result of the political quagmire and not vice versa, contending that elections would bring the needed political stability.

Meanwhile, the PTI leader blamed the incumbent regime for the rise in terror incidents, claiming that PTI chairman Imran Khan was the only respected Pakistani leader in Afghanistan, as “his hands were not stained by the blood of Afghan people.”

He argued that “bombs and missiles are not the solutions to everything” and that matters had to be solved through dialogue.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022