LAHORE
\nPTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that party chairman Imran Khan was determined to dissolve assemblies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab within the next few days.
\n\u201cIn a meeting with the party leadership today, Imran said that snap polls were the only way forward [\u2026] and for this, the dissolution of assemblies is very important,\u201d the former minister told reporters in Lahore.
\nLast month, Imran announced that his party would disassociate itself from the \u201ccurrent corrupt political system\u201d by quitting the assemblies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
\nHowever, in an interview with Bol News earlier this week, the PTI chief said that he may delay the dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies if political players agreed to come to the table and decide that the general election would be called maximum by the end of next March.
\nSince March will be the month of Ramazan, Imran\u2019s new suggestion implied that the coalition government should immediately announce the date of elections, and dissolve all assemblies.
\nWhile the former prime minister is determined to dissolve assemblies, Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi \u2014 who is in power in the province due to the support of PTI \u2014 has said that the provincial assembly will \u201ccontinue the same way for the next four months till March\u201d.
\n\u201cMy stance is the same \u2026 I will dissolve [the assembly] whenever he (Imran) tells me to,\u201d Elahi stated in an interview with Hum News. \u201cThat decision has been taken. However, now you\u2019d have to think of its pros and cons. For that, we will have to hold talks.\u201d
\nIn a media talk today, Qureshi said that Imran had been holding back-to-back meetings with PTI lawmakers in Punjab.
\n\u201cAfter talking to them, he is convinced that the only way forward is dissolving assemblies and moving towards fresh elections,\u201d he stated.
\n\u201cThe party believes that even if the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) keeps its own interests above the state\u2019s interest [\u2026] and does not hold elections [\u2026] it is their wish.
\n\u201cWe want that before Ramazan, the election process should be completed and governments should be formed,\u201d Qureshi said, adding that Imran was clear on his stance that there should be no delay in the dissolution of assemblies.
\nStressing the need for fresh polls, he claimed that Pakistan\u2019s economic situation was worsening day by day.
\n\u201cThe business community has lost trust [in the government]. Farmers are worried [\u2026] there is no investment coming in the country [\u2026] our growth rate is going down and same is the case with industrial productivity.\u201d
\nQureshi went on to say that the current situation \u201cclearly hinted\u201d at an economic decline.
\nPTI welcomes SC\u2019s suo motu notice of Arshad Sharif\u2019s murder
\nThe PTI leader also said that the party has welcomed the Supreme Court\u2019s suo motu notice of the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif \u2014 who was shot dead in Kenya earlier this year.
\nAfter the top court took up the case yesterday, the Islamabad police had sprung into action and registered a first information report [FIR] of the murder.
\nTalking to the media today, Qureshi said: \u201cWe appreciate that the Chief Justice of Pakistan has formed a five-member bench. A fact-finding report has also been presented [in the court] and its salient features are in front of you.
\n\u201cThe point of view of Sharif\u2019s mother is also in front of you. We believe that justice should be served,\u201d he stated.
\nMeanwhile, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry criticised the move to name the police as a complainant in the FIR. \u201cWe believe that the court and institutions have one job \u2014 to satisfy Sharif\u2019s mother.\u201d
\n\u2018Want to reduce differences with institutions\u2019
\nCiting the custodial torture of party leaders Azam Swati and Shahbaz Gill, Qureshi said that Pakistan had recently seen violations of basic human rights.
\n\u201cThese are very serious matters on which our nation, civil society, judiciary, and all other stakeholders should think. If this continues, it will only harm the country.\u201d
\nThe PTI leader went on to say that his party supported democracy and always functioned constitutionally.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t want to harm any institution. If, in the past, there were some differences or misunderstandings [\u2026] we now want to build confidence to reduce these differences,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that party chairman Imran Khan was determined to dissolve assemblies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab within the next few days. \u201cIn a meeting with the party leadership today, Imran said that snap polls were the only way forward [\u2026] and for this, the dissolution of assemblies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-299854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n