PTI appears to be retreating on the chairman’s revelation; Marriyum says Imran is the first leader whose statement is being denied by the party’s own media accounts
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) appears to have “backtracked” on the party chief Imran Khan’s statement in which he said he had dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies on the advice of former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The party’s official Twitter account posted a screenshot of a Geo News’ report on Khan’s statement. It claimed that the report was a fake. “Lifafas (paid journalists) are misleading the people once again! PTI chairman referred to all past statements of PDM regarding dissolution of assemblies. Absolutely not what is being portrayed by some media persons,” the tweet claimed.
However, Geo News reported Khan’s statement based on the interview he gave to a private news channel in which he clearly said that he had dissolved the Punjab and KP assemblies on the advice of the former army chief. “In a meeting with General Bajwa in the presence of President Dr Arif Alvi, he [Gen Bajwa] said if you want elections, dissolve your governments,” the former prime minister said in an interview with a private news channel on Sunday. Gen Bajwa had no ideology, Khan said, adding that the former chief of army staff (COAS) told him lies.
The deposed premier, who was voted out of office in April last year after a successful no-confidence motion, said the Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief told him that Bajwa wanted to bring Shehbaz Sharif into power. He also revealed that a Middle Eastern leader had told him a year earlier that Bajwa was not with him any longer. Imran has previously claimed that Gen Bajwa’s behaviour changed after he was granted an extension.
Imran said the elections across the country could be held the same day in July, provided Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif dissolved the National Assembly in May. “The easiest way to hold elections is to resign from the National Assembly, the prime minister dissolves the assembly,” Khan said. “Joint elections can be held immediately after that. Yes, they can be held in July.”
About talks with the ruling alliance, Khan said he had given the mandate of negotiations to Shah Mahmood Qureshi and not to Asad Qaiser, the former speaker of the National Assembly. “There has been no discussion with Shah Mahmood Qureshi so far,” he clarified as there were reports that some major political parties had reached out to the PTI.
Meanwhile, reacting to the PTI’s tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb asked the party “not to play with the public’s minds and not tell lies”. Khan was the first leader whose own party was contradicting his statement, she said. “His party’s official account is saying, ‘Imran did not say what was reported.’ “You [Khan] destroyed the society and the economy, poisoned minds and paralysed the country. Why did you dissolve assemblies on Bajwa’s advice?” she asked.
Criticising the PTI chairman further, Aurangzeb said Khan “insulted” the people of Punjab and KP, ridiculed their representatives and dissolved the assemblies in an attempt to come to power. “Neither will people forgive those who played with the Constitution nor will we let them go,” she asserted. “Now, the elections will not be held on the advice of a mother-in-law or Bajwa but at a specified time.”