Asfandyar sees no polls in next four to five years

ISLAMABAD: Veteran politician and Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan has said elections are not possible in the country in the next four to five years because of a precarious political and economic situation.

In an interview in Saudi Arabia, where he went to perform Umra, he said the country could not afford to hold elections for its poor political and economic conditions. “It is a pity that politicians have not matured enough to accept their defeat. A person wants elections and form a government on his own conditions. Will he accept his defeat if he loses? His past is before us. It is why I don’t see elections in the country for the next four to five years,” he added. The ANP leader, who has been bedridden for some time, said Ishaq Dar had assumed office in a difficult time. “No one could have produced desired results in the current situation. People, who call him a failure, do not understand the situation. When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to replace Dar in his government, I personally met the former prime minister to convince him against it,” he recalled. Calling Imran Khan a stubborn, narcissist and vindictive, he reminisced his days at the Aitchison College. “I was two year senior to both Imran Khan and Chaudhry Nisar. The principle appointed Nisar as the college cricket captain after which annoyed Imran, but the principal stood his ground. It created animosity between Imran and Nisar,” he added.

“Imran Khan is criticising the generals who brought him to power. He supported General Musharraf in his referendum when he overthrew the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999. Imran Khan played a key role in the election of General Musharraf as president in uniform. Imran also called me for Musharraf’s support and when I refused, he got angry with me,” he added.