PTI’s ultimatum: announce general elections before Dec 20

pti leader fawad chaudhry is addressing the media on november 28 screengrab

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday gave the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) an ultimatum until December 20 to “come up with a final formula” for elections.

Taking to Twitter, Fawad criticised the rival political leaders saying they “do not want elections, but they have no idea how to run the country”.

Read Sanaullah challenges Imran to dissolve assemblies

“The country is not run by just making ministers and making foreign visits,” he continued, “this is a complicated and difficult job for which their leadership is unfit.”

“Pakistan needs stability,” he added.

“If the PDM does not come up with a final formula for the country-wide general elections by December 20, then the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) assemblies will be dissolved and the process of general elections in Punjab and K-P will be completed before March 20,” the PTI leader said.

“In this regard,” he added “[we] have the full confidence of the allies”.

Read More Stage set to dissolve assemblies: Fawad

Earlier, former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan had said that he was sticking to his decision to dissolve the provincial assemblies in December in a bid to force the incumbent government into early elections.

“We will implement our decision to dissolve assemblies. We are holding consultations and preparing our party leaders because negotiations for caretaker set-up will start after the dissolution of assemblies,” the former premier had said in an interview with a local TV channel on Saturday.

When asked to give an exact date for the assemblies’ dissolution, Imran had said, “It will be done in December”.

Uncertainty over assembly dissolution

On the other hand, Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi, in an interview on a television channel, had said that the provincial assembly will “continue the same way for the next four months till March” – a statement that appeared to militate against Imran’s resolve to scuttle assemblies this month.

Also Read PM again rules out early elections

“My stance is the same … I will dissolve [the assembly] whenever he [Imran] tells me to,” he had said. “That decision has been taken. However, now you’d have to think of its pros and cons. For that, we will have to hold talks.”

Elahi had said that from now till March would be “the best time for the opposition to initiate talks”, adding that homework also needs to be done on how the election would be conducted.

“We have reservations with the chief election commissioner,” the chief minister had said. “He is trying to disqualify Imran Khan.”

Replying to a question on whether he saw the assembly completing its term, the Punjab CM had said “No it’s not like that. [It] depends on the opposition’s behaviour.”

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