Daily Times

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Asad Umar shared on Friday that his party chief Imran Khan will skip the federal government’s all-parties conference (APC) scheduled for February 7.

The statement of the PTI leader came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed the invitation he had extended to the PTI chief at an apex committee meeting in Peshawar.

PTI leader Umar, while speaking to the press outside Lahore High Court, said, “How can we sit with them [PDM-led government] while cases are being registered against us?

The Constitution is being violated by registering cases of treason against the opponents and all the government resources are devoted to arrests and detentions.”

While mentioning the by-elections he said: “Governors are not ready to provide the dates for the elections,” adding that 220 million people of Pakistan will not allow anyone to seize their rights.

Asad Umar further said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was bound to conduct polls and that the ongoing economic conditions could not interfere with elections.

The PTI leader instructed party workers to prepare for the election, and said that holding by-elections in 90 days had been “cleared”.

He hoped that the decision will be in “our favour at the next hearing of when the elections should be”. He added that the Punjab governor and the electoral watchdog believed that the elections should be held in 90 days but were not ready to give a date. He said that the ECP itself wrote that 54 days are required for preparation, however, the government was deliberately trying to create confusion.