Successful PTI sit-in would have brought martial law: Bilour

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party's senior vice-president Ghulam Ahmad Bilour on Friday said the successful sit-in by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would have brought martial law in the country.

He said timely intervention by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the federal government foiled the conspiracy to derail democracy. Speaking at a press conference, the veteran nationalist leader said the November 2 lockdown call was aimed at destroying democracy and imposing an authoritarian rule in Pakistan.

Ghulam Bilour, who is the parliamentary leader of the ANP in the National Assembly, said Imran Khan was disappointed after losing the support of the political parties and was trying to enter the corridors of power through backdoor.

"He (Imran Khan) is trying to derail the democratic dispensation to pave the way for becoming the prime minister through undemocratic means," he alleged.  He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak launched an assault on Islamabad but retreated due to the effective security arrangements put in place by the federal government. He said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa voted the PTI to power but despite being the ruling party it is silent on the fact that the province is facing exploitation.

The lawmaker said Pervaiz Khattak was not the hero of Pakhtuns but had used them in the fight of the PTI Chairman Imran Khan for capturing Islamabad. "He (Pervaiz Khattak) proved by his actions that he is a traitor to Pakhtuns," Ghulam Bilour alleged.

The ANP leader blamed the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for using the resources of the province on organising public meetings and making arrangements for the party's protest sit-ins. "The provincial government has pushed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the wall by spending public resources for promoting the political interest of Imran Khan. The province is facing serious financial problems," he maintained.

He said instead of bringing about any change and giving relief to the people, the PTI government was contributing to the woes of the people. He said the federal government had ignored KP in the multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) but the PTI-led government was doing nothing to secure the rights of the province in the project.

"The CPEC project has been turned into China-Punjab Corridor Project," he said. He said that setting up of six out of the total seven power projects under the CPEC in Punjab was a sheer injustice with KP which has a vast potential for producing cheap hydel power.