ISLAMABAD: Amid the ongoing crisis surrounding Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry suggested holding a meeting together among ruling parties, establishment, and PTI to bring a constitutional amendment with consensus to conduct elections at one time.
When asked if the PTI would agree to hold elections on another date rather than May 14, Fawad said that the “ideal” situation would be to sit together and bring a constitutional amendment with consensus.
A day earlier, the former ruling party extended a dialogue offer to the coalition government to finalize a date for the ‘general elections’ after the National Assembly (NA) passed a resolution rejecting the Supreme Court bench’s “minority” verdict on the Punjab elections.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been demanding early elections across the country since his ouster in April last year and earlier said that he was ready to wait till October for elections if the PDM government shares a roadmap with him, ensuring that everything would be in order.
Fawad criticizes government for violating constitution
Fawad criticized the incumbent government for not following the Constitution or the law and resorting to brutality, putting 10-year-olds in prison and inflicting torture. He also mentioned that the PTI dissolved the provincial assemblies so that the incumbent government would conduct national elections.
The political temperatures in Pakistan flared on Tuesday when a three-member bench of the apex court unanimously declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to delay the election in Punjab and KP “unconstitutional”.
The ECP postponed the date of the polls in Punjab to October 8 — initially scheduled to take place on April 30 — citing an increase in terror attacks, a shortage of security personnel, and an unprecedented economic crisis.
After the apex court’s order, the election commission notified May 14 as the election date, with the stalled polling process to resume on April 10.
