Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has made it clear that he will not forge an alliance with any corrupt political party in the upcoming general election.

Addressing a press conference at the Insaf House on Saturday, Imran said his party would be on the streets before the next general election and “will not allow Nawaz Sharif to conduct 2013-like elections”. “Close aides of Nawaz Sharif were sitting in the Election Commission.”

He said that the PTI was busy handling cases related to election rigging in 2014 and Panama Papers in 2016, and hoped that 2017 would not be wasted in Panama Papers, as “it will be wrapped up in January positively”. Welcoming the new Supreme Court bench that will hear the Panama Papers case from January 4, he said, “We expect that the new Supreme Court bench will hear the case on a daily basis.”

He also said that the party would accept the final decision of the Supreme Court, and added that judiciary was the only institution left for the people to look up to for justice.

Imran said he was disappointed over former chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali’s decision to delay the Panamagate case hearing.

“Political parties in the opposition have contributed to the terms of reference (ToR) for Panama Papers [case] in the National Assembly, and our demands remained the same for implementing the ToR,” he added.

He admitted that the PTI was not prepared for the 2013 general election, but there was no misconception about candidature this time. “I have kept a close eye on all the candidates and those who will contest the next election will be decided by me,” he added.

Talking about the Baldia factory inferno, the PTI chief said it was unfortunate that no action had been taken against the culprits. “It was tragic to know that people take money for doing all this: playing with the lives of innocent workers.”

He said that those involved should awarded toughest punishment for the rule of law in the country, and added that the Baldia factory case should be heard by military courts so that witnesses could appear without any fear. The PTI head said that politics of the Muttahida Quami Movement had isolated Karachi from the rest of the country in the political arena. He said that his part wanted to restore the city’s previous status, as Karachi had remained the epicentre of the country’s politics in the past.