News Analysis |
Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and lawmaker, Imran Khan, demanded early elections to weed out corruption from the country. Khan, 65, stated this in his media talk at Chitral where Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pervaiz Khattak and PTI’s secretary general, Jahangir Tareen, accompanied him
He said there are doubts regarding the mandate of the government (both political and moral), therefore the demand for early elections is not against democracy.
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The call was made at a time when the ruling family was dealt with two severe back-to-back blows as the Supreme Court gave a scathing verdict on the review petition and the accountability court rejected the application to club the graft references.
He said: Nawaz Sharif should be ashamed of himself for openly attacking SC judges simply because they exposed his ill-gotten money & corruption.
While chastising the PML-N, Khan flayed Chief Minister Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif. He said Shahbaz was in London to pacify his elder brother (Nawaz Sharif) at a time when his province was afflicted with smog. “We need to think about the effects of smog on our crops, agriculture and most importantly on health.” Said Khan. He earlier called Shahid Khaqan Abbasi one of the weakest premiers, saying he is busy in “looking after” his deposed leader.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, spokesman of the PTI, Fawad Chuadhary, also said that elections must not be delayed. The pressure seems to be mounting on PML-N. Their efforts to snap back at the Supreme Court have been criticized by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and of course, by archrival PTI.
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The ruling party released a statement that called Supreme Court’s verdict full of anger, prejudiced and bigoted.Khan lambasted Nawaz Sharif for openly denigrating the judiciary. The 65-year old took to Twitter to express his indignation.
Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and lawmaker, Imran Khan, demanded early elections to weed out corruption from the country.
He said: Nawaz Sharif should be ashamed of himself for openly attacking SC judges simply because they exposed his ill-gotten money & corruption.”PPP’s Co-Chairman and former President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, also berated Nawaz Sharif.
He said that Nawaz has exposed his anti-democratic agenda, therefore; one would not like to be associated with him. He pointed out that while Shahbaz Sharif flays him, messages to tie up a meeting with Nawaz also pour in.
Observers are certain that the ruling party finds itself in dire straits. However, they also assert that this trouble is self-inflicted. The line of argument taken by a section of commentators is simple: democracy, party, and the system are well intact. PML-N is causing itself harm by trying to save a family.
Read more: Imran Khan threatens to protest against Election Commission of Pakistan
The question that will dictate the future of politics in the country is whether or not PML-N breaks away from the Sharif family. Experts and insiders are certain that Sharif’s position in the party is being challenged;, especially by the Shahbaz camp. Another question that may come to the fore is whether PPP continues to oppose Nawaz or will it enter into some sort of an alliance with its former ally, PML-N? Regardless, Pakistani politics will be typified with attritional battles between Imran Khan, a beleaguered Nawaz and a seemingly dormant PPP.