Daily Times

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Vice President Fawad Chaudhry hoped on Sunday that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) would not use its “subsidiary” Election Commission (ECP) to run away from elections.

The PTI leader took to Twitter to say that they are afraid that the PML-N might try to escape the people’s court with the help of its “partner” ECP. He added that they would follow the PML-N. The former Information said that in a democratic country, it is the people who have the ultimate authority to make decisions, and the PDM government should acknowledge the people’s rights.

In a major development on Saturday, the PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced the dissolution of the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on December 23 (Friday). The PTI chief’s announcement – who was flanked by Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and CM Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan – came during his address to the party’s workers and supporters via video link from his residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park.

In response, Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira reiterated that the government’s stance still stands – elections for assemblies that will be dissolved and by-polls on the constituencies that are vacated. Talking about PML-N’s strategy to counter the PTI’s move, the minister said that the parliamentary party decided to opt for the “constitutional option”. Sanaullah asked Imran to dissolve the assemblies immediately, saying that there is no need to wait for December 23. For his part, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that they would not take any unconstitutional steps.