'General elections cannot be held under anyone's pressure,' Khawaja Asif tells Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Berating PTI chief Imran Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Friday that the general elections cannot be held under anyone's pressure.

Addressing a joint press conference flanked by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik and Special Assistants to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi and Attaullah Tarar, Asif said: "General elections cannot be held under anyone's pressure and decision regarding elections will be taken by PM Shahbaz Sharif in consultation with coalition partners." 

Lashing out at Khan for his "incessant whining" on the matter of the army chief’s appointment, he said: "Imran Khan has been using [abusive] language since his ouster. Before, Khan would say that he and the [establishment] are on the same page. During his time in power, his hugs would not end with them and now, he is abusing them."

Asif said that Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with the world were affected during Khan’s tenure.

“We (PML-N) do not believe in political victimisation,” the minister said, adding that his party believe in rule of law.”

Referring to PTI’s criticism over the acquittal of PML-N leaders, Asif said that the court issued its ruling on merit.

“Imran Khan Niazi and his followers have nothing to show for their performance,” he said and accused the past government of lodging false cases against the leaders of PML-N.

“A baseless money laundering case was registered against Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz,” he added.

Imran’s only problem is regaining power, the PML-N leader added.

“We proved by our words and actions that we stand with the judiciary,” said Khawaja Asif.

Responding to a question, the PML-N leader reiterated that the upcoming general elections would be held as per the schedule.

For his part, Ahsan Iqbal claimed that Imran Khan’s recent movement is not aimed at holding general elections in the county.

“At least four months are required for the new census in the country,” he said, adding that the government will not bow down to any pressure.

“It is not possible to hold early elections due to the rehabilitation of flood victims,” the PML-N leader added.