Govt planning to arrest Imran Khan before holding elections: Fawad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry has asserted that the PML-N-led government was planning to arrest party chairman Imran Khan before holding general elections, ARY News reported on Monday.

The former information minister made these remarks while talking to journalists outside the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan following the proceedings of suo motu noice regarding delay in announcement of date for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Fawad Chaudhry lauded the apex court for taking suo motu notice of delay in the announcement of polls, saying judiciary’s intervention was the way to resolve the matter following the refusal of the governors to announce date.

Terming the Supreme Court the ‘saviour of the Constitution’, the PTI leader said that their primary job was to protect the Constitution and asked the ruling PDM’s leaders’ to not make the apex court a part of public debate.

Fawad Chaudhry further said during the hearing of the suo motu case, the PML-N also employed its “old tactics to divide the Supreme Court”. “If elections are delayed beyond 90 days it will shake the foundations of the Constitution,” he said, hoping that the court’s verdict will be based on Constitution.

Speaking of the proceedings, Fawad noted that the bench considered who has the constitutional responsibility for appointing the date for the holding of a general election to a provincial assembly, upon its dissolution. “All the lawyers have maintained that the elections should be held within 90 days”, he added.

“The judge suggested that the matter should be resolved by consensus”, he said, adding that the PTI also wanted the same. However, he said, the government was planning to arrest Imran Khan before holding elections.

“The government thinks that Nawaz Sharif’s convictions should be overturned,” he said, asking how can there be a consensus on such demand of the government. “The election will be held as per the constitution and not by consensus”, he added.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan reserved verdict in the suo motu proceedings regarding the delay in announcement of date for holding elections for Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies and will announce it tomorrow at 11am.

After hearing the arguments, the Supreme Court (SC) reserved the verdict and said that it would announce the verdict in the election date suo motu case tomorrow at 11pm.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail is hearing the case. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial acknowledged the lawyers for assisting the court on the matter.

Earlier in the day, the court gave PTI and the coalition government until 4pm to sit together and come up with election dates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. However, a mutually agreed upon date was not found.