Dissolution of assemblies: Imran Khan announces to unveil date on Dec 17

ISLAMABAD: Former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has announced to unveil date for the dissolution of the assemblies on December 17 in a key gathering on Lahore’s Liberty Chowk, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Imran Khan has taken a firm stand on the dissolution of provincial assemblies being ruled by his political party in December.

Imran Khan has ended the confusion regarding the PTI’s stance on the dissolution of the assemblies. The PTI chief held an important session with the party’s senior leaders. Sources added that the PTI senior leaders suggested dissolving the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies on the same date.

Imran Khan said that he has received opinions from all party leaders. He added that he will not announce his decision as the time of consultation has concluded. Imran Khan announced that the assemblies will be dissolved in December.

The session also discussed the legal aspects of the assemblies’ dissolution. Dr Babar Awan briefed the constitutional and legal grounds of the upcoming move. Sources told ARY News that PTI is likely to announce the same date for dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies.

After chairing the session, Imran Khan made the announcement to unveil the date for dissolving the provincial assemblies in Punjab and KP on December 17. He said that PTI will organise a gathering at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk on December 17 in which he will make the announcement.

Elaborating on the future strategy, Khan said that around 125 PTI lawmakers will appear in the National Assembly (NA) to announce their resignations.

He said that the move will pave way for the organisation of elections on 70 per cent of the seats.

In his address, Imran Khan said that concrete action is inevitable to avoid more losses. Slamming the acquittal of the top politicians in corruption cases, he said that cases against ‘big dacoits’ are being dissolved in a shameful manner.

He said that those nations see disastrous outcomes where the law discriminates against elites and poor people. “We are on the brink of disaster as our country is destroying with its sinking economy.”

‘NRO 2’

Imran Khan said that those politicians who had been given NRO by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf are now given NRO 2. “They are returning one by one and their cases are being dissolved.”

He criticised the warm welcome given to the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Salman Shehbaz Shehbaz over his return. Khan said that Salman Shehbaz should tell the nation how Rs16 billion came to the bank accounts of sugar mills’ employees.”

He cast doubts over the deaths of witnesses and the investigation officer in the case.

‘Political stability required in country’

The former premier said that political stability is crucial for economic stability and investors would never pay attention to those countries hit by political turmoil. He said that the growth rate has now declined to zero which was left at 6% by the PTI government.

“Unemployment and inflation are increasing in Pakistan, factories are closing and export is destroyed. How can we repay our debts? The incumbent government has no plan to cope with the economic challenges.”

‘Not seeking help from establishment’

Imran Khan rejected the impression of seeking assistance from the establishment. “I am not seeking help from the establishment. I want the establishment to stay neutral so confidence of the nation is increased.”

“I don’t want to weaken our armed forces and our independence is compromised. Pakistan’s establishment will become strong after being neutral.”

He said that PTI loyalists and supporters were given threats via unknown numbers. Khan said that everyone witnessed the actions against Arshad Sharif, Azam Swati, Ayaz Amir and Shahbaz Gill.

The PTI chief alleged that attempts were made to weaken and divide his political party on the federal level. Khan said that he knew who carried out the assassination attempt on him but he could not ever register a First Information Report (FIR) independently.

He clarified that the criticism against former military ruler General Musharraf was not meant to criticise the whole institution. He added that the nation loves the armed forces.

He said that the assassination attempt on him was made to suppress his voice. Imran Khan said that he will continue his struggle for real independence.