Thank God, I didn’t form govt in Centre: Imran

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan on Tuesday said he would have faced countless difficulties if the party had formed its government in the Centre after the 2013 general elections.

In an interview with BBC Urdu, Imran Khan reasoned that if he had formed the federal government in 2013, he would have faced countless difficulties due to inexperienced parliamentarians.

Except for Pervaiz Khattak, it took other parliamentarians a year to understand how to run affairs, he said, adding that the PTI leaders had shown exceptional leadership qualities despite their inexperience.

“I have learned a lot during the PTI’s tenure in KP," he said, adding that he was hopeful that the PTI will prove victorious in the next general elections. The PTI chairman also said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s municipal system, education system and easy access to health facilities were the three achievements he was most proud of.

“Compared to the other provinces, we have spent much on education,” he remarked. On the KP municipal system, he said the new system could not be implemented as some members of his own party and provincial bureaucracies had been opposing it.

“As per law, the system has been implemented; however, actual implementation is taking some time. We have made some revolutionary changes which have never been seen in Pakistan due to which some of our MPAs and bureaucrats are against it,” he said. “KP has the best municipal system in the entire country and officials in the other provinces have also demanded a similar system.

“The mayor of Karachi says he wants the KP municipal system. Punjab’s municipal officials say they also want to implement a similar system. There must be something in this system that everyone is demanding it,” he said. Speaking about improvements in the health department, Imran Khan said the PTI government had increased salaries of doctors, improved the service structure and employed more doctors. “During our tenure, the total number of doctors increased from 3,000 to 10,000. We need a significant amount to improve hospital facilities and buildings. We do not have those funds available," he said.