PTI slams ECP, govt for delaying Punjab, KP elections

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership Thursday came down hard on the government and the Election Commission of Pakistan for ‘delaying the elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies through lame excuses’ and said the rulers would not find an escape route from elections come what may.

In a statement issued here, PTI Central Secretary General Asad Umer, PTI Senior Vice President Dr. Shireen Mazari and PTI Central Secretary Information Farrukh Habib said that the ‘imported government’ was using all tactics to evade elections. However, they said that all their attempts to defer the polls would not succeed.

Umer said that the ‘imported government’ cleared its position in the court on Thursday’s hearing that they would deviate from the constitution but would not hold the polls. However, he expressed the optimism that God willing, the court would not let them run away and the elections would be held within the stipulated time.

Dr Mazari said that it is nearly 30 days since the dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies and the ECP did not announce dates for the elections despite knowing that the constitution provided no exemption to holding them within 90 days. “Instead the Munshis running around like headless chickens finding ways to evade elections,” she added.

Farrukh Habib urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to play a role in upholding the rule of law and the constitution. He said that the superior judiciary should stop the blatant violation of the Constitution by the government and the ECP.

Earlier, in line with the vision of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and on the directions of Syed Shadab Jafri, Chief Organizer Pakistan, a seminar was organized by Insaf Lawyers Forum, Rawalpindi Division at Lawyers Club Rawalpindi District Courts.

Addressing the event, the participants pointed out violations of the rule of law in the current political situation and expressed serious concern over it. They stressed on the need for every institution to remain confined to its constitutional role, saying it is important for the development and prosperity of the country that the law is respected. “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is the torch-bearer of the unity of the country. Attempts are being made to harm the country by weakening it.

Imran Khan is the only leader of Pakistan who talked about the rule of law in the country and considered lawyers as the first force for the implementation of the rule of law in the country,” they said.

Ex-Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi, researcher and analyst Prof. Tahir Naeem Malik, Syed Shadab Jafri, Chief Organizer Insaf Lawyers Forum Pakistan, Moazzam Ali Butt, Deputy Organizer Pakistan, Chaudhry Zubair Kasana, Organizer Punjab, Sardar Azimullah Khan Mayo Coordinator Rule of Law Movement, Tahir Malik, Organizer Rawalpindi Division, Malik Khalid Awan, Organizer North Region, Irshad Haroon Janjua Member Central Organizing Committee, Ali Bukhari Organizer Islamabad

District Rawalpindi Insaf Lawyers Forum, a large number of lawyers and civil society members and others attended the event.