All allied parties pledge not to hold early elections under IK’s pressure; Saad claims by-polls is not a barometer of popularity; Hints at not to tolerate any interference in legislative affairs of the parliament
Amraiz Khan Lahore
All the allied parties of the government on Tuesday agreed to a unanimous stance to not to hold early elections under the pressure of PTI chief Imran Khan.
The decision was taken in a special meeting of the heads of the coalition partners of the sitting government held here in Lahore at the invitation of the Prime Minister.
As per details the allied parties’ heads while addressing the meeting have stated that the early elections will not be held under the pressure of Imran Khan.
The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister and Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) head Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other parties’ leadership participated.
After the meeting, Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) talked to the media and announced that the federal government will complete its tenure, dismissing all speculation regarding the possible dissolution of the government following PTI’s victory in the recently-concluded Punjab by-election. The decision came after the PML-N faced defeat in the Punjab by-elections on 20 constituencies on July 17 against the PTI.
The PTI won 15 seats, while the PML-N managed to clinch victory in only four, and an independent candidate grabbed one.
The announcement was made after a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore with the allies.
Talking about the Punjab by-elections, the railway minister said that these elections cannot measure the popularity or unpopularity of PML-N as the party and the coalition government have won five out of 20 seats.
He said that the PML-N leadership has made sacrifices for democracy, adding that the party knows how to save its politics but it decided not to do so. “The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) requests to respect the decisions made by the Parliament and that it has its reservations on judicial interpretation of Article 63(A),” said Rafique, adding that “legislation is the Parliament’s prerogative and it should not be interfered with.”
PML-N decides not to hold snap polls after PTI triumph in Punjab
The Supreme Court is hearing a case related to the recent changes in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws after PTI Chairman Imran Khan challenged the amendments.
Berating Khan, the PML-N leader said that he was a “conspirator and not mentally fit”.
