Imran says to continue fight for Pakistan till ‘last ball

ISLAMABAD: Following the Supreme Court judgment, Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a message to the nation on Thursday that he had always and would continue to fight for Pakistan till the 'last ball'. He gave this message in a tweet and said, "I have called a cabinet meeting tomorrow [Friday] as well as our parliamentary party meeting, and tomorrow I will address the nation. My message to our nation is that I have always and will continue to fight for Pakistan till the last ball."

Meanwhile, after having consultations with his political and legal team, Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday summoned a meeting of the federal cabinet for Friday (today) as well as of the parliamentary party to chalk out the future course of action, following the Supreme Court judgment on Thursday summoned a meeting of the federal cabinet for Friday (today) as well as of the parliamentary party to chalk out the future course of action, following the Supreme Court judgment on the deputy speaker's ruling.

According to Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, the prime minister would also address the nation on Friday night. The PM summoned an emergency party meeting where he was given a briefing by the legal team with reference to the apex court judgment and possible options. During the meeting, it was learnt, various options were being discussed, including en masse resignations from the legislatures to thwart the 'designs of the combined opposition'.

Earlier, hours before the judgment, the prime minister inaugurated the Pakistan Emergency Helpline (PEHEL-911) here and addressed the ceremony, wherein he said that the fundamental responsibility of the state is to protect the life and property of its citizens and if it abdicates from this, then the state does not remain a state. The premier said that after the 18th Amendment, the country looked like fractured unfortunately, as the provinces were on the one side and the federal government on the other. "On this project, we all must be on one page, as this is in the interest of all. And, this is a major step towards the vision I had 25 years ago of building a welfare state on the principles of Madina state,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking to a private news channel, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said he was very sorry to say that such a decision was not expected. "We have always respected the decisions of the courts. We will look at the evidence and make the letter a part of the decision."

Imran Ismail said it was an international conspiracy against Pakistan as it was not a Qatari letter but Pakistan has been threatened with regime change. The governor said "We are fully prepared for elections, the opposition itself was demanding immediate election, and is now running away. What was happening in the Sindh House was unconstitutional."

He said those were unfortunate decisions, the situation of uncertainty would increase, there would be no improvement, political confrontation would intensify, the economy might be shaken.

The Sindh governor said: “We will play our role to the fullest. No one can accuse Imran Khan of corruption. The decision is yet to be taken in the National Assembly on Saturday. Parliamentarians have been called to the meeting.”

Imran Ismail said that there were rumours regarding the resignations; if the prime minister says so, then the PTI members will resign. Tomorrow, it will be decided what will be the next course of action. In the meeting with the PM, everything will be consulted.

Separately, Federal Minister for Law Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Thursday alleged that the 'unfortunate' judgment had added to the political crisis in the country. Immediately after the SC announced its landmark judgment, Fawad took to Twitter to say, "This unfortunate judgment had added to the political crisis in the country. Immediate elections could have brought stability. Unfortunately, the masses importance has been ignored. Let us see, how the matter moves forward."

Earlier in the day, during a chat with journalists outside the Supreme Court, he cautioned that "if the attempt to change the government is successful, we will be back to the era of slavery of 1940. This will be considered as the worst occupation attempt of imperialism."

Referring to the ruling by NA deputy speaker, he contended that the case of ruling cannot be settled till the evidence is seen in the court hearing and added it would be strange for the decisions of the Supreme Court to be debated in the Parliament and the decisions of the Parliament to be debated in the Supreme Court.

He observed that when fake votes were cast in the Parliament, the SC said 'We cannot interfere' and that whether the Speaker's ruling is wrong or right, it should be decided by looking at the material available to the speaker.

Fawad emphasised that evidence and documents must be considered in decision regarding the Speaker's ruling motion on the no-confidence motion. He also pointed out that the Attorney General also said that there should be an in-camera hearing in which all the evidence and documents should be presented before the judges on the basis of which the Speaker came to the conclusion that it was a global conspiracy to change the government in Pakistan.

In reply to a question, Fawad maintained that they would move after keeping in view whatever judgment the apex court bench would announce. "The country is suffering economic loss due to political crisis; the dollar has crossed its limits. If we move towards the no-trust motion, then economic problems in the country will intensify. For economic stability in Pakistan, it is necessary to have political stability in the country, for political stability, it is necessary to go for elections. Elections are the only solution to political instability," he contended.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill also expressed his disappointment. "It appears, we have returned to the situation of 1947. Our ancestors, who had got slit their throats and crossed the Wagah border to live in an independent country, perhaps did not know that we are now going into American slavery after getting rid of the British," tweeted SAPM Dr. Shahbaz Gill