FAISALABAD, Apr 22 (APP)::Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan has said that the Constitution of Pakistan was a set of procedures that must be interlinked and integrated to strengthen true democracy in the country.
Talking to media persons at his Dera after Eid prayer here on Saturday, he said that the elections after the dissolution of assemblies within 90 days was a part of the Constitution but the same constitution gives clear instructions that the elections of all Provincial and National Assemblies must be held simultaneously under the caretaker setup.
“We take the Constitution in a holistic manner but Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is stressing only one point of 90 days while ignoring the remaining integral parts of the Constitution”, he added.
He said that earlier, the elections of National and Provincial Assemblies were held on different days but later on the Election Commission decided to hold the elections concurrently to avoid influencing the elections to be held after the first elections.
Rana said that National Assembly House comprised 272 members, out of which 146 were elected from Punjab. “If the elections are held in Punjab before the elections of National Assembly, the winning party whosoever will have an edge to influence and capture the elections to be held in the later phase. This situation may be unacceptable for the other provinces and they may oppose it and create a chaotic situation in the country”, he maintained.
About the example of Indian elections, he said that elections in that country were a normal process as its Elections Commission was strong enough to control the influence of sitting and winning parties.
Rana said, “No doubt the clause of 90 days is a part of the Constitution but it has also been mentioned in the same Constitution that the elections of National and Provincial Assemblies would be held on the same day under a caretaker setup.”
He termed Imran Khan as a “Fitna” (political miscreant) and said that he had been fomenting internal chaos and anarchy to achieve his ulterior motive. First, he dissolved the two assemblies and then made a demand for fresh elections. The motive behind this chain of actions was to put Pakistan into political and economic turmoil, the minister added.
He claimed the PTI chief’s politics was based on dividing the nation and sowing the seed of hatred among the people. Instead of paying respect to others, he educated his followers to hate and be disrespectful to their opponents.
The interior minister said that during his 4-year period in power, Imran Khan put the country into an economic crisis which has now become fatal. He (Imran Khan) introduced very poor economic policies which proved a total failure and after laying landmines, he dissolved the assemblies to create problems for the next government, he added.
Rana said that the country was passing through a very critical stage and the incumbent government was trying to correct the situation within given resources.
He said that it was very astonishing that the political parties were ordered to take decisions for the date of the Punjab Assembly elections after consultation otherwise the election date of May 14 would not be changed. Earlier Imran Khan was ready for negotiation but after this order, he totally changed his stance and refused to join the negotiation, Rana added.
The minister also congratulated the nation on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr and said, “We must pray to Allah Almighty to improve the current situation”.