ISLAMABAD: Federal government on Saturday rejected Imran Khan’s claim of en-mass resignations from all assemblies and termed the long march as a flop show.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the next general elections in the South Asian nation “will be held on time,” that is after August 2023.
“Let me make it absolutely clear that the next elections will be held on time,” Sharif told Anadolu Agency in an interview.
He was responding to questions about his predecessor and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s demand for early elections.
“This government came into being through a constitutional process and enjoys the mandate of the people of Pakistan,” Sharif said.
“The term of the current National Assembly will end in August 2023 to be followed by the establishment of an interim government that will hold elections,” the Pakistani prime minister explained.
The present coalition government has “representation of all political parties of the country except the PTI and is busy dealing with the issues of great importance,” Sharif said.
Notably, Khan said on Saturday his party has decided to resign from all provincial assemblies, a move seen as a fresh bid to push the government for early elections in the country.
Sharif paid a two-day official visit to Türkiye on Friday at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On Friday, Sharif and President Erdogan jointly inaugurated the third of four MILGEM corvette ships manufactured by Türkiye for the Pakistan Navy at the Istanbul Shipyard.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that it was not possible for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to dissolve legislative assemblies including ones in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, saying no-trust motion can be moved at any time.
His statement comes in wake of PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s announcement to quit from all legislative assemblies instead of marching on Islamabad to force the government into early polls.
“Today I am deciding against marching on Islamabad because we don’t want to spread anarchy in the country. We have decided to quit all legislative assemblies,” the PTI chairman said while addressing the party’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ march in Rawalpindi.
Minutes after his announcement, Sanaullah tweeted, “Not possible! A vote-of no-confidence can be moved in the provincial assemblies at any time without wasting time.”
The interior minister claimed that the opposition parties have required numbers in the Punjab Assembly to form the government in the province.
In another tweet, Sanaullah said Imran accepted his defeat and announced quitting assemblies to “clean up the mess”.
He said the PTI’s plan to blackmail and pressure the government has failed miserably as Imran could not gather a “sea of people” in Islamabad.
“Now his new plan will also fail and he will be exposed with each passing day,” he added.
Sanaullah said the masses have sidelined the long march of former premier Imran Khan.
He said the participants were not more than 16,000. According to Rana – as he claimed that if the PTI leadership opted to stage sit-in, then by Maghrib prayer, the – number – of participants would be shrink to 7,000.
Talking about the preparations of the government over the long march, Rana said that the preparations are made to bar the participants of the long march to enter Islamabad.
‘Imran’s plan against COAS appointment flopped’
Meanwhile, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said all Imran’s plots and conspiracies including the so called “9-year plan” against his political opponents and making make new army chief appointment controversial have failed miserably.
President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday approved a summary sent by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the appointment of Lt-Gen Syed Asim Munir as the next army chief and Lt-Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), ending days of speculations.
Hailing the appointments of the next army chief and chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the PTI on Thursday hoped that the new leadership of the armed forces would play its role to strengthen the constitutional rights and democracy in the country.
While referring to the approval to the top military positions by President Arif Alvi, the former ruling party in a statement said that it was ready to take measures in the “best interest of the nation’s security and stability of state institutions”.
The PTI said that the events during the last eight months had caused “deep divide” across the country and measures taken during the time had brought “extensive damages” to the country and its state institutions.
PTI chief desires Rawalpindi to reselect him: Bilawal
Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan desires Rawalpindi to reselect him.
PTI facesaving flop show is anticlimactic. Unable to pull revolution crowds, failed at undermining appointments of new chiefs, frustrated, resorts to resignation drama. Imran demand from pindi is not azadi but to be reselected. How long will KP&Punjab be used as political props?
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) November 26, 2022
Taking to twitter on Saturday in response to address of Imran Khan during long march in Rawalpindi, Bilawal Bhutto said, “PTI face-saving flop show is anticlimactic. Unable to pull revolution crowds, failed at undermining appointments of new chiefs, frustrated, resorts to resignation drama.”
“Demand from Rawalpindi is not azadi but to get him selected again. How long will KP and Punjab be used as political props?,” the FM added.
