File photo of PTI Chairman Imran Khan
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday reiterated his confidence in Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi dissolving the provincial assembly after he obtains a vote of confidence, maintaining that this will trigger general elections nationwide in April.
Speaking with a group of journalists at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore, he claimed he was “in touch” with the new military establishment—but did not offer any further details on whether he had been granted any “assurances” that snap polls would occur.
Continuing his habit of contradicting his own statements, Khan stressed that the only way to save the country from default was fresh elections. In the same breath, however, he said it wouldn’t much difference to the PTI if polls were not conducted ahead of the full constitutional term of the incumbent Parliament, as this would trigger further public backlash. To a question, he said the PTI had decided against dissolving the Punjab and KP assemblies on Dec. 17—when he announced they would be dissolved a week later—because its allied parties needed to be convinced of its efficacy.
Last week, the opposition in Punjab effectively blocked the assembly’s dissolution with the governor de-notifying Elahi as chief minister after he failed to obtain a vote of confidence. The PMLQ leader was subsequently reinstated by the Lahore High Court on the condition that he not dissolve the Punjab Assembly before the next hearing on Jan. 11. However, the court ruled that he was free to take a vote of confidence before this date in line with the governor’s initial directive.
While both the PTI and PMLQ have repeatedly stressed that they would dissolve the Punjab Assembly after securing a vote of confidence before Jan. 11, Elahi has repeatedly made it clear he is not in favor of the move. The PMLQ’s demand for a favorable seat adjustment with the PTI has proven a stumbling block, with the former reportedly demanding 30 provincial and 15 National Assembly seats. The PTI, by contrast, has been unwilling to support the PMLQ on seats beyond its current strength in the assemblies. The negotiations are ongoing, with PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain claiming the issue would soon be resolved, as the PMLQ cannot win the next polls without the PTI’s support.
Separately, in a series of tweets marking the birthday of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on Dec. 25, the PTI chief reiterated his claims of Pakistan’s crises being the result of a lack of rule of law and protection of citizens’ rights. “This in turn protects them from elite capture of the state and government. Unfortunately in Pakistan because rule of law was never allowed to be established, elite capture of the country has allowed powerful institutions and mafias to remain above the law as if it was their right,” he added.