In an interview with The Nation/Nawa-e-Waqt, minister defends ECP decision on elections saying if Punjab polls are held in 90 days, the province will have veto power in next general elections n Govt cannot allow political and legal chaos in country. ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has alleged that Imran Khan has called back extremist elements in Pakistan from Afghanistan as he intends to target his political opponents through these people to limit their movement and keep them away from electioneering. He said that Imran Khan has resettled the extremists from Afghanistan in Pakistan, and his purpose was that he wanted to work with them, and eliminate his political opponents from the election through the extremists. In an exclusive interview with The Nation/Nawa-e-Waqt here yesterday, Ahsan Iqbal criticized Imran Khan for his policies and attitude saying he was creating instability in the country.
LHC orders police to produce Azhar Mashwani
On the ECP move to postpone the Punjab elections, the minister said the government has a strong case to defend in the Supreme Court. The Election Commission will defend itself, as they also have a strong case, he added. He opined that the Supreme Court ignored the important things in the decision while ordering to hold the election within 90 days. “If the decision of the Supreme Court regarding holding elections within 90 days is followed, Punjab will have the veto power in the next general elections and it will have implications for the federation,” he said. He was of the view that the other three provinces will be marginalized and they will not have any voice in the general elections. He maintained that the government cannot allow political and legal chaos in the country. He said that the provincial elections should not affect the national elections. The Council of Common Interests during Imran Khan’s tenure had decided that the new elections should be based on the new census. Now, if the decision of the Supreme Court is implemented, veto power will come to Punjab, first the government of Punjab will be formed and then whoever forms the government in the province will dominate the upcoming national elections. This may have implications for the federation, Ahsan said. The Supreme Court should have applied its mind, he said and adding that the judiciary, if it gives such decisions in which bias is seen, what will happen to the reputation of the judiciary? The civil rule of law will end, he said. The Minister further said that if the decisions of the Supreme Court in the interpretation of the Constitution are subject to political interest, then the constitutional scheme will end.
Imran pins hope on SC over Punjab Assembly elections
The decision given by the Supreme Court is not an interpretation of the Constitution but rather it is an amendment to the Constitution, he remarked. The Election Commission of Pakistan and other concerned institutions were not heard. The Supreme Court should have listened to them. Ahsan Iqbal said that the decision of the Election Commission to postpone the elections in Punjab is in accordance with the Constitution. According to the Constitution, general elections should be held together, so everyone should have a ‘level-playing field’, he maintained. When Imran Khan had dissolved the provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP, he acted like a suicide bomber, the minister said. “It was his suicide attack on the system, and now he is worried,” he added. The Supreme Court decided to hold the elections within 90 days and ignored important things, the minister maintained. When we were prompting Imran for dissolution of the provincial assemblies, it was actually part of our strategy and the aim was to remove Imran Khan so that he cannot use the provincial resources for the fulfilling of his political misadventures, the planning minister said. “We were successful in our strategy,” he claimed.
ECP releases detailed verdict in prohibited funding case
Regarding the availability of Armed Forces for the election security, the minister said that the Ministry of Defense has made it clear that the army is not available for the elections. They have their own security plan, and they are saying that if they are deputed for the elections, they will have to stop the operations, he added.